Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: BBC (Bovell, Brown, Cobby) "Quality Weed," Leon Dinero "If You Ask Me" b/w Screechy Dan "Bandits"

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

"Quality Weed" (7" vinyl single, Declasse Records, 2019) is a terrific,  amusing, pro-pot cut borne of a collaboration between Dennis Bovell (Blackbeard, Matumbi, The 4th Street Orchestra), Jimmy Brown (UB40), and Steve Cobby (DJ/producer, Fila Brazilia, The Solid Doctor). The lyrics, sung by Bovell with his almost impossibly deep voice, pretty much sum up the proceedings: "Take my advice now, now hear ye this/There's nothing wrong with cannabis/Set yourself free whenever you wanna/Avail yourself of some marijuana/Select the buds and plant the seeds/To be sure that you're partaking of quality weed..."

The track is presented in two versions, a traditional, dubby roots reggae take and a house remix on the flip side (that manages to retain its reggae flavor through the bass line and brass). With its cranked up BPM and additional percussive touches, the house version--unsurprisingly--has more life to it and is actually the better of the two. Essential for Bovell completists like this reviewer; diversionary fun for everyone else.

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This is the second Daptone single from singer Leon Dinero and producer Victor Axelrod (upon first hearing his debut from earlier this year--"Lover Like Me" b/w "Conscious is Heavy"-- you'd swear it was a lost '60s Skatalites/Jackie Mittoo 45 recovered from Studio One's vaults--it's superb). "If You Ask Me" (7" vinyl single, Daptone Records, 2019) is one of the late Dan Klein's sweet rocksteady compositions that was considered for The Frightnrs debut LP back in 2016, but put aside in favor of other material. Dinero, backed by the remaining Frightnrs, does this lovely, pleading love song justice ("If you ask me to/I would be the very best me I could be...") and this cut reminds the listener, once again, of Klein's considerable songwriting gifts. "Bandits" features Screechy Dan on the mic decrying the predatory and racist policy of allowing the gentrification of large swathes of Brooklyn by greedy landlords/real estate developers (with tacit approval from the city) and the resulting mass displacement of poor/working class people of color (from neighborhoods where they've lived for decades) over the boss "If You Ask Me" instrumental track: "From Bed Stuy to Crown Heights to Flatbush/Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, down to Red Hook/It's like bandits come in/Have the place shook/While we look as our culture get ambushed..." Like all truly great and catchy protest songs, "Bandits" moves both your body and conscience (that is, if you have one).

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Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: The Captivators, Do the Dog Skazine, The Frightnrs, King Kong 4, and Well Charged!

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

The Captivators Need a Lift? (digital EP, self-released, 2018): While I'm not sure how lead track "Ass, Gas or Grass" from Washington DC's Captivators' debut EP comports with these Me Too times, it is pretty smart-ass and funny (it's based on an old bumper sticker that you'd used to see back in the '70s and '80s when hitchhiking was a pretty common thing: "Ass, Gas or Grass: Nobody Rides for Free"--which pretty much sums up the American ethos). And it gives you the correct first impression that The Captivators are all about being completely entertaining while having a blast--which they definitely do on this release (the band is Alex Daniels on drums, Bill Wade on vocals and t-bone, Charles Freedman on bass, Dan Hauser on guitar, Jaime Soto on sax, and Mark Allred on trumpet and keys). The recording itself is a serviceable DIY effort (made in a band member's basement), but the songs and performances are definitely there (their sound, attitude, and vision lurks somewhere between The Scofflaws and Gangster Fun). Key tracks include "Piltdown Man" (about a 1912 paleoanthropological hoax--someone claimed they found the "missing link": "The Piltdown Man/Was such a scam/Skull of a man/Jaw of orangutan/It makes me sad to hear that gadgeteer/Could gain such fame from such a claim/The crowd he'd awed with his defraud/That charlatan Charles Dawson"), "Poor Jimmy" (about an innocent kid chewed up by one of America's foreign interventions: "He had to see things he never should have seen/He had to do things he never should have done/And at the tender age of 19/They were through with Jimmy when the war was won"), and "The Inbetweeners" (a nod to those kids not cool enough to be cool, but not nerdy/freakish enough to be outcasts). After hearing this EP, you'll be jonesing to see them live.

Do the Dog Skazine (Printed skazine, monthly, Do the Dog Music): This longest running skazine continues to be the best and most comprehensive source for info about the global ska scene. Nobody does it better. It's only available via subscription (you receive printed issues in the mail!), but worth every penny.

The Frightnrs "Never Answer" b/w "Questions" (7" black or color vinyl single, Daptone Records, 2019): These two tracks from The Frightnrs' stellar, digital-only 12/21/12 EP (which we reviewed here) have finally made their way to vinyl. The Lovers Rock-ish/Sugar Minott tribute "Never Answer" is about the tension in a relationship that arises when others try to sow the seeds of mistrust in order to destroy it (the solution: ignore the haters and focus on what you've got). The flip side is a fantastic dub version by Victor Axelrod (cheekily titled "Questions"). This single is yet another testament to late singer Dan Klein's considerable talents--and reminds one how much he is missed on the scene.

King Kong 4 Songs for Olly (digital EP, self-released, 2018): The four cuts on this EP were originally written by Mitch Girio for his friend Oliver Will in the German trad ska/calypso/mento band The Loveboats, but they broke up soon after Girio demoed them back in 2011. Fortunately for us, Girio revisited and refashioned these winning tracks for his own incredible King Kong 4 (Brendon Bauer on bass, Andrew McMullen on drums, and Ronald Poon on organ). Given their genesis, these songs skew a little more toward trad ska than their typical late '70s Elvis Costello/Joe Jackson/2 Tone sound (which is in no way a drawback). Like most of Girio's compositions, these are fully realized, universally relatable, everyday dramas--someone desperate for the Friday five o'clock whistle to sound (but they're dreaming of leaving for good: "I've been here all week/I can't take one more/I'm itching to leave/I'm scratching at the door"); lying in bed after an evening of drinking and assessing/regretting all the dumb things said and done ("Drink In Your Head"); being in love with someone who's just plain mean to you ("Grenadine," which thematically seems so calypso); and repeatedly finding someone cheating on you, even after you keep forgiving them ("Taking Back the Ring"). This is yet another dynamite King Kong 4 release in an ever-growing string of them. Highly recommended.

Well Charged Lift Up Sessions EP (CD EP/digital, self-released, 2018): First off, you need to know that this debut release from Charleston, SC's Well Charged contains some seriously good vintage ska, rocksteady, and reggae (founding members Vasily Punsalan on bass and John Picard on drums did a long stint backing John Brown's Body's singer Kevin Kinsella and it shows; they recruited David Hillis on organ, Andrew Link on lead vocals and guitar, and NYC transplant Megg Howe on backing vocals; Agent Jay of The Slackers, mixed, dubbed, and mastered this EP). The two keyboard-focused instrumentals remind one of Jackie Mittoo Evening Time-era tracks, while two of the rocksteady vocal cuts sound like songs Phyllis Dillon would have covered. "A Dozen Roses" and its melancholy version "Red Roses" are about falling in and out of love--check out these lyrics from the latter: "Fall in love, you can, fall in love/Just look out the stem has thorns/If she's really lovely, find it necessary/Check out her head for horns." Make sure to keep your eye on this band.

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The Frightnrs on Mad Decent: Free Download and upcoming EP and 7"!

In what is a very significant development for a band from NYC's under-the-radar ska/reggae scene, Mad Decent--Diplo's label (Major Lazer, Santogold, Snoop Lion)--is releasing a digital EP and 7" from Queens, NY's very own Frightnrs in August 2015 (and this is in addition to the band's recent "I'd Rather Go Blind" single on Daptone)!

To help promote this release, you can hear/download The Frightnrs' "Admiration" (expertly produced by Victor "Ticklah" Axelrod), as well as a dubby EDM remix of the track by Toddla T and Cadenza, by checking out the Mad Decent Soundcloud page.

"Admiration" was originally released on The Frightnrs' fantastic 12/21/12 digital EP (read The Duff Guide to Ska review of it here). This is what I had to say about the track a while back:

"The unfairly-accused narrator (more fool for a pretty face than anti-hero) of the spaghetti Western cut "Admiration" ("They're gonna punish me for something that I didn't do!") is desperately determined to evade his pursuers, since capture will certainly subject him to vigilante justice: "I didn't know her before today/Now, I'll walk across the sand/and I'll sail across the sea/They've got their nooses ready/hanging underneath a tree/With their horses and their guns/they've got this man on the run/But what I have done remains a mystery to me." The precise and relentless beat of this track conveys the pressured urgency of continually pushing forward to stay free and, more importantly, alive--while a ringing, almost shimmering solo guitar line conveys his loneliness as he plods across a bleak, sun-baked landscape that stretches to the horizon and offers no sanctuary."

The Frightnrs are phenomenally good! Here's hoping that Mad Decent bring The Frightnrs the recognition and fans they deserve!

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Update 7/24/15: The title of The Frightnrs new six-track EP is Inna Lovers Quarrel and the iTunes pre-order is on now.

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The Frightnrs To Release Single on Daptone!

The Frightnrs, who play an amazing mix of rocksteady, reggae, and rub-a-dub and are one of my favorite bands on the NYC ska/reggae scene (they hail from Queens, like The Ramones!), are releasing a new single--a phenomenal cover of Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind" backed with a dub version by Victor "Ticklah" Axelrod--on Daptone Records on June 30, 2015. You can pre-order the single here (in addition to standard black vinyl, there's a limited edition of 100 copies on translucent orange wax for the collectors--I've ordered mine!).


For some background on The Frightnrs, check out The Duff Guide to Ska reviews of some of their previous releases: The Frightnrs six-track EP and the four-track 12/21/12 EP. Both are highly recommended.

Duff Review: The Frightnrs "12/21/12" EP

Self-released

2012

Four-track digital EP (available through Bandcamp)

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Just in time for the holidays (though missing Hanukkah by a couple of nights), NYC's reggae/rub-a-dub kings The Frightnrs stuff our stockings with some choice musical sweets--via this stellar four-track 12/21/12 digital EP (masterfully produced, recorded, engineered, mixed, and dubbed by Victor "Ticklah" Axelrod)--that will keep you grooving long after the tree has been reduced to mulch (and is fertilizing the bushes in some city park) and the ornaments and lights are packed into the hall closet.

Despite its incredibly lovely and lush melody (what love would sound like if it were music), "Never Answer" is about the tension in a relationship that arises when others try to sow the seeds of mistrust in order to destroy it. The singer pleads for his girl to believe in him and their love--because he's never going to dignify, or give life to, the accusations with any kind of response: "I know I never give you any answers, girl/I love you/I'll give you everything but my heartache/I bet you want that, too/No matter what they say, I'll always be there for you/I'm your guy/And if you ever have any doubts, girl/I promise it will be the last time/I'll give you my heart, all of my soul/Everything that I own/For it is better to die a beggar, than to go on all alone..." Singer Dan Klein is so damn sincere in his delivery that you'll believe him, too (even if the excellent dub of this track is called "Questions" and seems to serve as an instrumental response to his grandiose declarations).

The unfairly-accused narrator (more fool for a pretty face than anti-hero) of the spaghetti Western cut "Admiration" ("They're gonna punish me for something that I didn't do!") is desperately determined to evade his pursuers, since capture will certainly subject him to vigilante justice: "I didn't know her before today/Now, I'll walk across the sand/and I'll sail across the sea/They've got their nooses ready/hanging underneath a tree/With their horses and their guns/they've got this man on the run/But what I have done remains a mystery to me." The precise and relentless beat of this track conveys the pressured urgency of continually pushing forward to stay free and, more importantly, alive--while a ringing, almost shimmering solo guitar line conveys his loneliness as he plods across a bleak, sun-baked landscape that stretches to the horizon and offers no sanctuary. (The dub of "Admiration" features some nice cinematic touches: a sound clip of "From now on you oughta be lookin' behind you, 'cause one day you gonna get a bullet in your back!"--followed by a grandfather clock chiming the dread hour of five o'clock, and the odd ricocheting bullet.)

Hopefully, someday someone is going to combine the tracks on The Frightnrs' 12/21/12 with those from their equally fantastic six-track self-titled EP (read The Duff Guide to Ska review here) and put all of this out on vinyl and CD. Music of this quality deserves to be on something almost permanent, because--like me--you're going to want to keep coming back to these songs again and again for a long time to come. 

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Here's a video that I shot of The Frightnr's performing "Admiration" at Electric Avenue on 10/13/12. The band is really hot live, so make a point to see them in person!

Duff Review: The Frightnrs EP

Digital 6-track EP
Available via Bandcamp
2012

(Review by Steve Shafer)

The Frightnrs have got such an authentic reggae/rub-a-dub vibe going that by the time I finished listening to their remarkable new self-titled EP (which sports a rich and warm sound thanks to Victor "Ticklah" Axelrod and Agent Jay), I was unsure if what I had heard were mostly originals or covers of obscure tunes learned from well-worn 45s unearthed from the depths of the best used record store I've never yet had the pleasure to find. For the record--and I double checked with Frightnrs ace keyboardist Chuck Patel about all this--the only track they version is Jackie Mittoo's sublime "Ram Jam" on "Walkin'." But check out a track like "Zombieland"--with its frustratingly familiar keyboard riff (for about a day it drove me crazy that I couldn't figure out what it sounded like, but finally had the revelation that it mimics the vocal line from The Congos' "La La Bam Bam"--but then again, it also reminded me of Desmond Dekker's "Pretty Africa")--or anything else on this stellar six-track EP and you'll be stunned by how much this band understands, live in, and loves rocksteady, 70s reggae, and early dancehall.

With its killer vintage Jackie Mittoo/Harry J organ lines, the bubbly yet edgy "& I Wouldn't Tell You This" ("...if I didn't really care") corners you to bestow some wisdom on you via half a dozen proverbs and maxims--and even hilariously re-defines some of them ("It don't mean you're weak/if you turn the other cheek/As long as you come back around/and smack their face"). Knowledge is power, right? "Evening Time" is an answer record to Maddie Ruthless' track of the same name off her new album (about a couple only having the nighttime to share together, since the rest of their time is devoted to eking out a living); this one's from the boys' point of view ("The only time I feel alive/in the evening time/The only place I feel alright/with your hand in mine/So meet me at the familiar spot/that's where I'll be/'Cause I've been there a million times/waiting patiently/in the evening time"). If there's a way to translate the lonely beauty and shrouded mystery of nighttime and the feelings of anxiety, anticipation, and gonzo ecstasy when you're crazy in love into music, this is how it would sound--it's that perfect.

The urgent, minor-key, and damn catchy "Ties Been Severed" captures the singer stunned in the wake of a break-up, but not remotely ready to give up on his lady ("Now, the ties you have to sever/I'll stop loving you--never!/Not as I'm grieving/'Cause no matter what you do/I'll spend my whole life loving you/Still believing, oh yeah.") The sax and keyboard trade some great riffs here. "Walkin'" is another exceptionally smooth 'n' romantic pitch (via the aforementioned "Ram Jam" rhythm) to a special lady: "Walkin'/baby, I walk to you/and you know that it's true, yeah/Talking/baby, I talk with you/Hope/that you'll come back to me/Longing/baby, I long for you/and you know that it's true, yeah..."

Exhorting the listener to "think for yourself and trust your instincts," "Zombieland" decries how we're all "living a zombieland...you no see dem there...zombie dem all around" (shades of They Live!). The threat to humanity here isn't from zombifying infection or attack from the zombie hordes (see 28 Days Later or World War Z)--it's from people not using their own brains on a daily basis and opening themselves up to being manipulated/exploited by more powerful forces in pursuit of their own pernicious agendas. (Pretty much sums up the current Citizens United state of affairs in the USA right now, doesn't it?)

I have to say that The Frightnrs EP is one the most compelling new releases I've heard in a while--and it absolutely is on The Duff Guide to Ska's list of "best ska/reggae releases of 2012."

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For a limited time, The Frightnrs EP may be downloaded for free from Bandcamp (but please consider paying something for it...this music has great value to it and the band obviously worked overtime to make something this incredibly good).

Duff Review: Prince Fatty: "Insane in the Brain" b/w "Insane Dub Mix" and "Christopher Columbus" b/w "Dry Your Tears"

Mr. Bongo Recordings
2010
7"

For anyone who hasn't been introduced to Prince Fatty yet, it's a reggae collective that was originally assembled by producer Mike Pelanconi (who, amongst other things, helped engineer Lily Allen's brilliant ska-reggae-pop confection Alright Still--check the credits and you'll find a certain Victor Axelrod on keys!) for recording a single, "Nina's Dance," to promote Stussy's 25th anniversary. Their one-off was a minor hit in the UK, so they decided to make a go of it as a group. Prince Fatty's debut, Survival of the Fattest (Rasa Music, 2008), was one of those left-field surprises that the a-hole, snobby music-nazi in me almost dismissed outright as some sort of pop perversion of reggae (the sticker on the album boasted that "Milk and Honey" had been featured on an episode of the sudsy, doctor make-out fest "Grey's Anatomy"--a definite turn-off).

Survival of the Fattest is full of sprightly and stunningly good original roots reggae that sounds like it's straight outta mid-Seventies JA. Of course, it helps to have incredible Jamaican greats like Winston Francis and Little Roy sharing duties on the mic (plus the fantastic Holly Cook, daughter of Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and member of the reformed Slits). The album is a mix of playful instrumentals like "The Fat Panther" and the Rico-inspired "Switch Blade"; soulfully uplifting, make-you-smile cuts such as "Curious" and "Don't Give Up"; the drop-dead, heart-thumping-in-your-throat sexy "Milk and Honey" with Hollie Cook on vocals; and the stoned and on the prowl "Gin and Juice" with Horseman toasting under the influence. If you don't already have this record in your collection, you really should.

Prince Fatty is now back with a pair of vinyl singles to help promote the new Supersize album (which also features the legendary Dennis Alcapone): "Insane in the Brain" (featuring Horseman) b/w "Insane in the Brain Dub Mix," and "Christopher Columbus" (featuring Little Roy) b/w "Dry Your Tears" (featuring Winston Francis).

"Insane in the Brain" is a maddeningly good cover that betters Cypress Hill's 1993 hip hop original (which was featured in the excellent Warren Beatty liberal political comedy "Bullworth"). Horseman's toasting is fast and furious and top-notch (note the whinnying at the start of the track!). You'll have a hard time knocking this one out of your noggin. The dub is a somewhat reworked version of the A side instrumental track--nice to have, but not essential.

On the bitter and defiant "Christopher Columbus," Little Roy plaintively sings, "Why did he go" to the New World and deliver such misery (enslaving the native peoples he encountered and opening the door for the horrific, genocidal slave trade between Africa and the Americas) and wreak such havoc (plundering the indigenous people of their riches and their land's natural resources): "Him go away and him come again/bring Babylon on ya/Him go away and him come again/but Natty wouldn't give up!" Little Roy originally wrote and recorded this superb track in the 70s--and it can be found on a 1998 collection of his singles compiled by Pressure Sounds on Tafari Earth Uprising, which is definitely worth tracking down. (The companion piece to Little Roy's "Christopher Columbus" might be The Toasters' "History Book," a ska tune written from the point of view of the Old World invaders: "South Devon pirates, buccaneers on the Panama coast/With a cargo of potatoes and Indian princes, but what they want the most/Is to fill that hold with Spanish gold and make proud their boast/That England will smile on their piracy while they drink Elizabeth's toast...Arab traders ply their weapons on the Africa shore/And hapless victims bound in chains on the galleon floor/That their blood may be spilled in the land of Brazil/And they'll see their hopes forlorn/History will be cruel as it uses its tools/To shame the New World more.")

The gorgeous rocksteady track "Dry Your Tears" is an ace cover of "Dry Up Your Tears," originally sung by Bruce Ruffin (of The Techniques). Winston Francis' captivating voice will seal the deal if you desire to seduce someone who's on the rebound ("I know he's done you wrong/It's a good thing I came along/To dry up your tears")--it's powerful stuff.

The Duff Guide to Ska Grade for "Insane in the Brain" b/w "Insane in the Brain Dub Mix": B+

The Duff Guide to Ska Grade for "Christopher Columbus" b/w "Dry Your Tears": A

[These singles can be tracked down at Ernie B's Reggae.]

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(Please note that there is one shot in the fan video for "Insane in the Brain" that is NSFW.)