Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: The Dendrites "Lunchin' with The Dendrites"

Self-released
CD/digital EP
2020

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Lunchin' with The Dendrites is the absolutely brilliant new EP from Denver's Dendrites that packs quite a wallop in its six tracks of strikingly original ska and jazz. "Dujack," with all of its menace (played by these wonderfully gifted musicians), could be the instrumental theme song for an imagined 1950s or 1960s private eye TV show, as it's in the vein of iconic tracks like "Peter Gunn" (written by Henry Mancini) or "Ironside" (composed by Quincy Jones); the music promises thrills, action, and conflict. "No Money No Sunshine" is an awesomely twisted you're completely bad for me but I can't help but love you mid-tempo ska song: "Baby, your dark cloud's been hanging over me/And I don't miss the sun/'Cause I hate to say, I love you more every single day/...Your vampire ways." I'm not sure if she's literally undead, but it's kind of not good either way.

"Snap Patch" is an easy-going jazzy/funky instrumental, while "Xaasj" (a species of large cacti found in northern Mexico) is a Mexican-ska-jazz blend, cinematic in scope, evoking the high drama of spaghetti Westerns. Perhaps the best cut on the EP, "Bottom Feeder" is an incredible, bright, dubby ska instrumental with these nagging minor-key chord progressions full of apocalyptic "Man at C and A"/"Ghost Town"-type dread (that Jerry Dammers did so well). Equally appropriate for Earth Day or the global COVID-19 pandemic, the sing-along "Don't Wanna Go" is an eco-ska song for environmental end times (it's the cut that should follow "Enjoy Yourself," when that track's lyrics are no longer relevant), which laments what we've done to trash the place, so much so that we have to abandon the mother-ship: "I'm not packing my suitcase 'cause I wanna go/Not packing my bags for a weekend show/I'm packing up 'cause we all gotta leave/'Cause the place we call home's a catastrophe...I'm packing now baby 'cause it's all gonna blow/Well, I tried and I tried and I tried to live green/Beam me up, Scotty, I don't wanna leave."

Lunchin' with The Dendrites is a real gem of an EP and, it almost goes without saying, is one of the best ska releases of the year.

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Duff Review: Various Artists "Drink the Ska"

Jump Up Records/Ska Brewing
LP
2018

(Review by Steve Shafer)

The loose concept for this unofficial 2018 RSD compilation was born at a Ska Brewing anniversary party in 2017 that featured Jump Up's Chuck Wren on the decks. Wren suggested that he and one of Ska Brewing's co-founders Dave Thibodeau put together a compilation featuring acts who have played Ska Brewing parties in the past, as well a healthy selection of choice bands from Jump Up's current roster. The result--unsurprisingly--is a really great mix of new, lesser-known, and solidly established ska bands from across the USA (many from the heartland) playing a variety of ska styles to please every taste.

The lead-off track is The Toasters' stellar tribute to Motown, "House of Soul (Whirly Gig Mix)," which, if you can believe it, is from 2013 (!) and represents the most recent bit of recorded music from them; surely another 45 must be forthcoming soon (read The Duff Guide to Ska review of the "House of Soul" 7" single here)! Of course, The Toasters have had a long association with Ska Brewing, which even released the limited-edition Sheebeen IPA Black in celebration of The Toasters' 30th anniversary. Top tracks to help you catch up on other well-known bands include Monty Neysmith and The Bishops' hilarious "Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Skinheads" (from their Jump Up record Monty Neysmith Meets The Bishops, which we reviewed here); The Crombies' spot-on ska cover of Billy Bragg's heartbreaking "Levi Stubbs Tears" (from their Jump Up Dance Crazee LP, which we reviewed here); The Dendrites' awesome ska-jazz "Booty Lu's Canoe" (from their recent Jump Up album Damn Right); The Prizefighters' very Skatalites-sounding "The Accolade"; the Bandulus' righteous ska-soul-early rock cover of James Brown's "Good Lovin'"; Green Room Rocker's hot version of Montell Jordan's '90s New Jack Swing cut "This Is How We Do It" (from their Jump Up release Sweat Steady); the grooving reggae "Dogs" by 2 Tone Lizard Kings (with Alex Desert of Hepcat); and Chris Murray and Caps Lock's sweet acoustic ode to consent in "50 Shades of Okay."

Many of the newer/lesser-known bands on Drink the Ska are a revelation and you'll be thankful for the intro. Boss Riot's "Hearts and Hands" ("...they tend to wander") is a terrific, catchy 2 Tone cut with female vocals; Boomtown United's "Work It Out" reminds me of a lot of the excellent modern ska coming out of Europe in the early '90s; there's ska-punk from Buster's Ghost with "Horn Show"; Blue Hornets' "Boom Ska" is top-shelf vintage ska with Dick Dale guitar break; The Breachers' rocksteady-ish (and kind of melancholy) "Walking to the Train" is on a loop in my head; and The Fuss' lovely rocksteady cut "So Many Times" (more female vocals!) is a treat!

Ska fans from all over should be sure to check out this dynamite comp! (Wish I could say the same for Ska Brew's beers, as they're only in distribution in certain states--I'd love to be able to sample their products! Drink the Ska, indeed!).

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Duff Review: The Dendrites - Mountain Standard Time

Megalith Records
2009

God save The Dendrites! What with the music industry in shambles (thanks, in large part, to illegal file sharing), a fragmented American ska scene (still licking its wounds from the crash of the late 90s), and scattershot coverage of the music by bloggers and podcasters, they decide to drop this superb album of instrumental ska on the world now? In a different time (say 1997, when they would have been compared to The Scofflaws, New York Ska Jazz Ensemble, Skavoovie and the Epitones, and Dr. Ring Ding & the Senior Allstars) or place (Europe, Japan, South America, where they are not as rigid in their tastes--anywhere but here), The Dendrites' Mountain Standard Time would be hailed and celebrated by the ska masses--it's that good.

Ostensibly a vintage ska band in The Skatalites mold, The Dendrites (based in Denver, CO) take it all to the next plane, in a manner that reminds one of an act like the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, as The Dendrites' music is influenced by a wide array of genres (surf, latin jazz, soul, reggae/dub, 2 Tone, 1960s movie soundtracks). And there is a wonderful fluidity between these musical styles that brings a complex texture to The Dendrites' songs, as they often take many unexpected turns (see the Dick Dale surf guitar break in "Murder Mystery Weekend," the Eric Dolphy-ish jazz flute riff in "MMGF Dub," or the funky soul intro to "Street Walkin'"). There is also a surprising dreadness--not typically found in the ska-jazz genre--to some of their bass-heavy and dub cuts, like "Head Game" and "Interplanetary Space Sex," that are in a similar vein as those on Dub is a Weapon's powerful Armed and Dangerous EP.

The songwriting, performances, and production captured on Mountain Standard Time are uniformly excellent--there isn't a bum cut on this album (make sure to catch the bonus track at the end, the gorgeously melancholy "Trouble," that features vocals!). While a record brimming with instrumental songs may not to be every ska fan's tastes (I'm looking at you ska-punkers), those who are open to this style of ska will find much to love here.

The Duff Guide to Ska Grade: A-