Duff Review: Danny Rebel & the KGB: "Toss It Up"

Limited edition LP/digital
Stomp Records
2021

(Review by Steve Shafer)

It might be a bit grandiose and/or passé to call Danny Rebel a Renaissance man, but he's such a gifted singer, songwriter, musician, performer, and painter (who the cap fit...). His latest album with the KGB, Toss It Up, doesn't disappoint. It features five new super-catchy, funky-reggae-rock (and rocking!) songs about love, lust, and lust for life, and a corresponding number of dubs--all of them spectacular--by Victor Rice.

Everything opens with the wickedly dangerous title track (what a heavy groove!) that's part throw down ("Been waiting here too long and I’m about to grab the mic/Got to lick the spoon clean always put up a fight"), part mission statement (you'll never make anything of your short time on Earth if you don't at least keep hammering away at whatever it is that you love doing).

Imma start this off with a blank fuckin’ canvas
Rip that shit toss it different colors by the masses
If you don’t do anything brother nothin’ will happen
Eat the paint daily to keep from being distracted

The plaintive but resolute "Move" is about being completely fine with leaving a bad relationship and all of its baggage behind ("Time to walk on from you/You’ve been a dark cloud on me"), and while "Ugly" is not a Fishbone cover, it concerns a similar hideousness/nastiness hidden from the world inside one's heart.

"Crossfader" is soulful and sincere love song that pledges love and fidelity, with some self-aggrandizing lyrics thrown in so she knows what she's got (and to warn off any contenders for the throne):

Musical sound’s called crossfader
My guitar is my Deathstar and I’m the lyrical Darth Vader
Riddim maker, KGB-wise
Watch the fire burning through my eyes
If one and one makes two, then I will never make you blue
And baby don’t you know that I will never turn my back on you
This old heart of mine, don’t need no riddim or no rhyme
Will be with you as long as I live, yeah I know I will never leave you alone
Even if you don’t answer your phone, I will be there

Released as a single earlier this year and employing a term for female genitalia that I've never encountered before, "Whispering Eye" is unapologetic in its direct and unadorned expression of lust ("We don’t need this love (I’ll save you the pain)...You don’t have to call (just call out my name)...All I really want is your whispering eye"). As one wry FB commenter replied to Danny about his new song at the time: "rent a room!"

Danny Rebel & the KGB's Toss It Up is on my list of top 2021 ska releases--and should be on yours, too. 

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Want more? Read my reviews of Danny Rebel & the KGB's Lovehaus, For Babylon's Head, and Spacebound.

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Danny Rebel & The KGB, Winds of Matterhorn!

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

In the "I still learn something new every day" category comes the great new trad-leaning ska single from Danny Rebel & The KGB that's a preview of their new album (!) Toss It Up, which is being released on Stomp Records on May 28th, 2021. It features five new songs and five corresponding dubs by Victor Rice (you can pre-order the digital album now; is it too much to hope that this will be issued on wax?). Employing a term for female genitalia that I've never encountered before, "Whispering Eye" is unapologetic in its direct and unadorned expression of lust ("We don’t need this love (I’ll save you the pain)...You don’t have to call (just call out my name)...All I really want is your whispering eye"). As one wry FB commenter replied to Danny about his new song: "rent a room!" (Danny Rebel & The KGB's most recent album was 2017's incredible Lovehaus (read my review of it here), which still needs to be released on vinyl, if there's any justice left in this world.)

Led by Swiss-Italian trombonist Mattbrass and producer Jackayouth, Swiss traditional ska band Winds of Matterhorn's superb new self-titled debut EP (12" vinyl/digital, Fruits Records, 2021) sounds like what one imagines the follow-up to Rico's incredible Jama Rico (with Jerry Dammers and Dick Cuthell again at the helm) would have been had all the stars aligned back in the '80s. This EP has the same wonderful vibe and sound (who knew the Swiss Alps were like the hills of Wareika?). Winds of Matterhorn's excellent original instrumentals are named after the four elements ("Earth," "Air," "Fire," and "Water") and lend this EP a theme that gives one's imagination a bit of direction when listening to these marvelous tracks. And while you're picking up Winds of Matterhorn's new EP, make sure to grab a copy of 2 Tone's vinyl reissue of Jama Rico (out this June), if you don't already have it!

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: K-Man and The 45s and Pama International!

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

I've been hearing really good things about Montreal's K-Man and The 45s for several years now (mostly in relation to the annual Montreal Ska Festival), so it's great to finally have a chance to review a new record from these ska/rock 'n' rollers (who veer into reggae, punk, even '80s hardcore--see the excellent, fiercely anti-heroin track "Don't Touch It"). Stand with the Youth (CD/digital/LP, Stomp Records, 2019) is K-Man and The 45s' dynamite fourth album (if you include their CD of ska covers of Ramones tunes) and its title track was written and recorded in response to the activism of the student survivors of the horrific Parkland school shooting and their allied peers who are organizing and advocating for sensible gun control laws in the US to help prevent future mass shootings, which continue to occur with alarming (yet increasingly numbing) frequency. K-Man and The 45s firmly side with the kids in this righteous cause: "We got a bullied young boy who wants to shoot it up/Then we watch it on the news how he went and lit it up/And now the youth of the nation ain’t giving it up/Because they’re fighting for their freedom and ain’t never going to stop." "Hooligans" pushes back against the gentrifying real estate developers ("goons with clipboards") who destroy vital and funky neighborhoods/communities for greed; the hard rocking "Paranoid Panic" is about succumbing to the fear created by the never-ending barrage of sensationalized crime stories in the media ("Another drive by on the news tonight/Seems like the neighborhood is one big fight/It’s a revved up panic that’s pushing her through the night"); and "Free to Go" encourages a woman to leave her physically abusive partner. But it's not all grim. The ridiculously catchy--and best cut on the album--"I've Got a Minute" ("...I want to waste it with you") is about working up the nerve to ask her out. "Hero with a Death Ray" is an homage to Cold War-era TV sci-fi characters like Flash Gordon or Captain Kirk ("Flying around going to slingshot in deep space/Hyper drive winning at the space race/Pick up the trophy, kiss the girl/Then he sets off to save the world." And the reggae track "Cooking Out the Pans" is concerned with nothing but the simple pleasures of hanging out on a beach, eating fish, smoking weed, and listening to live music. Anyone itching for a new Toasters record should absolutely grab this--most of the fantastic horn lines and arrangements sound like they could have been written by Bucket himself (and both bands share an admiration for '60s ska influencer Chuck Berry; on this record, K-Man and The 45s deliver a cool ska cover of "Never Can Tell"...).

Temporarily shedding their ska and reggae to fully explore the "altruistic soul" aspect of their sound, Pama International's Stop the War on the Poor (CD/digital/LP, Happy People Records, 2019) is a spectacular concept album of sorts, full of Motown and Stax-like songs by Sean Flowerdew and Lenny Bignell about love in all its forms--romantic love between people; the spiritual/moral love in forgiveness and redemption; and the love expressed through compassion and empathy for your fellow human being. Cara Jane Murphy and Jewels Vass split the vocal duties here (sides A and B, respectively) and both are are nothing short of amazing. Top cuts here include the Birmingham gospel/soul of "Get Up Off Your Knees" ("Lord he dared me/Raised my heart and compared me/To something he had trod in/Spreading disease/To my shame/I played him at his own game/Lord, get me off my knees"); the Detroit soul of the wonderfully named "Sure You Know the Price (But Do You Know the Cost)," which asks if you're willing to go all in--being vulnerable and risking hurt and more--for who you love ("I put myself in your heart/For all the good it did/Failed to understand/All that you kept hid/What's the use in worrying/If you never doubt/You get all that you give out"); the magnificent "Stop the War on the Poor" pleads for our collective focus to turn towards the corruption and criminality of the rich and powerful (who have rigged the system in their favor at the expense of everyone else) that is largely being ignored while the indigent are blamed for society's ills and punished/humiliated for their own supposed moral failings for not being materially successful; a great Temptations-like cover of Billy Preston's "You Are So Beautiful To Me"; and "I Love You (Wake Up)," which conveys sweetly intense longing and loneliness ("Four o'clock/Still awake/Waiting for/the day to break/Where are you?/Lying in silence/Deafened still/Don't want to spend/Another night/without you"). I'm not an expert on soul, but--damn--I know brilliant music when I hear it and Pama International's Stop the War on the Poor is it! All CDs and LPs come with an additional, free CD to share the musical love with friends, family, or strangers on the street!

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"Unstoppable: An Oral History of Stomp Records"

Noisey has just posted a terrific piece on a certain indie Canadian ska label that's still going strong and now celebrating their 20th anniversary (!): "Unstoppable: An Oral History of Stomp Records." Matt Collyer of The Planet Smashers (and founder of Stomp) and Chris Murray (King Apparatus), who produced the first Planet Smashers album, provide great insight into the rise (and continued success) of Stomp and the Canadian ska scene. It's a great read!

Free Download of the New Beatdown Single "Walkin' Proud"

Fans of dirty/skinhead reggae will want to get over to the Stomp Records site to download a free copy of The Beatdown's cool new single--"Walkin' Proud"-- off their forthcoming album of the same name (to be released on August 28, 2012).

(To read The Duff Guide to Ska's review of their s/t debut album, go here.)

New Beatdown Album "Walkin' Proud"

Seems like we're on a Canadian ska/skinhead reggae kick right now, 'cause we're psyched that the new Beatdown album is slated for release on August 28th, 2012. It's titled Walkin' Proud and will be released on the great Stomp Records. Here's the promo video:



The Beatdown's s/t debut album is also definitely worth purchasing--read The Duff Guide to Ska review of it here.

Duff Review: The Resignators "See You in Hell"

Stomp Records
2011
CD

(Reviewed by Adam Coozer)

When the “third wave” disintegrated after its heyday, its greatest victims weren’t the polar opposites of trad and ska-punk, but the goofy, cheeky, and proudly immature sounds of Mustard Plug, Planet Smashers, MU330, and The Aquabats. That style seemed to attract the most budding, pre-elitist ska fans circa 1994-95, and it was also the style most easy to grow out of.

It’s rare, then, for a band to embrace those happily dopey halcyon days, that fleeting moment when bands actually sang about “skanking” and inspired you to wear a checkered suit with a long wallet chain to high school. Well, Australia’s The Resignators, as shown on the album cover, are returning this music from the grave.

Despite the sepulchral imagery, they’re not a horror/ska-punk band a la The Independents. This is simple, youthful, good-natured third wave with a peppy, positive vibe that compensates for their dubious career choice. Like the bands mentioned above, The Resignators are uptempo; often, their only connection to Ska (capital S) is fast-paced guitar up-picking and bright horn lines (the horn section here is actually quite good). Not unusual for this genre, the vocals can be flat, but gang choruses and "whoa-oh’s" make up for it.

It’s hard to critique a band that just wants to have fun. I’m sure The Resignators know that their mindless ode “Taco Burrito” won’t win any songwriting awards, but that doesn’t stop them from gleefully intoning “Tacooo, whooa ohh ohh, burritooo!” until it’s stuck in your head. And maybe that small nostalgic part of you won’t mind such a tasty, cheap treat.

What is Ska Massive?

In a move to help better promote what is going down on the ska scene, Dave Kirchgessner (Mustard Plug, Ska Is Dead) is spearheading a new Facebook page called Ska Massive, which will include ska-related news and developments posted by the folks behind Jump Up Records, Stomp Records, Stubborn Records, Megalith Records, The Ska Parade, and Musical Occupation.

In a synergistic move, Dave has re-branded the annual New Jersey-based "Skanksgiving" fest. It will now be called "Ska Massive" 2010 and take place on Saturday, December 4 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ. Bands performing include Catch 22, The Pietasters, Mustard Plug, Deal's Gone Bad, The Forthrights, and Hub City Stompers.

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No doubt you've heard that Ska Is Dead, Asbestos Records, and Underground Communique Records are releasing a series of "Ska is Dead" split 7" vinyl singles ("new music on a dead format"!) featuring bands like The Beatdown, Reel Big Fish, Mustard Plug, Big D & the Kids Table, Bomb the Music Industry!, The Slackers, and Sonic Boom Six. This is a subscription-only deal--you pay $36 and they ship you six singles in total: two each in three installments. To order, go here.

Duff Review: The Beatdown - The Beatdown

Stomp Records
2010

Montreal's The Beatdown offer up a potent blend of punky skinhead reggae, vintage ska, and soul on their excellent self-titled debut (think The Clash meet The Pioneers with King Hammond at the controls). The Beatdown contains a tremendous mix of aggressively upbeat, sing-along-with-the-chorus originals (see the awesome, should be massive hits "It's Alright" or "Tell Me Why"), choice covers (The Temptations' "Get Ready," which takes on an almost menacing edge here, while Delroy Wilson's "I Want Justice" is cheerfully defiant, considering the lyrics; it should be noted that Wilson also recorded "Get Ready" himself), and grooving keyboard-driven instrumentals.

Lyrically, The Beatdown are chiefly concerned about relations with significant others ("One Night," "Let Me Take You Out," "Number," or "Today"), trouble in the streets ("Hooligans"), or standing up for oneself ("Try to take me/take me down/And you'll see what I'm made of," from "Beatdown"). You know, feelings and experiences common to all of us. One of the best cuts ("Tell Me Why") challenges a friend to explain what's causing their depression: "I know you feel like/you only get what you deserve/Your life's a mess/You're nothing but a zero...You've come a long way/Got a lot more to say/Still have a long long way/So you better tell me why/tell me why/You better tell me why." This is music therapy of the best kind.

The Beatdown grew out of Alex Giguere's (vocals, guitar) and Pascal Lesieur's (bass) other dirty reggae group, One Night Band (which is on hiatus?). So the quality control is high here--the songwriting, performances, production, and results are outstanding.

The Beatdown is a record that will pick you up when you're down and fill the dance floor when you put it on--two things you can always count on first-rate music to do. This is definitely an album to add to your collection.

Duff Guide to Ska Grade: A