Review Summary: West Yorkshire Ska band provide a new look at the genre, with the re-release of their debut album Change Of Plan.
The band, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, have been playing their own unique blend of ska and hardcore, aptly titled ‘ska-score’ since 2002. The current line-up is made up of Robin Leitch on trombone and vocals, Mathew Crosher on guitar, Joe Tilston on bass, and Sean Howe in charge of drums and samples, replacing original drummer and founding member, Joe Dimuantes, who actually drummed during the recording of this record. This album is a re-release of their 2007 debut, Change Of Plan, but also features the 5 tracks from their 2005 EP, On The March, as an added bonus.
One of the first things you notice about this album is the band’s uncanny ability to combine so many genres and still sound so natural. The album kicks off with the infectious ska-metal anthem, ‘Play Some Ska’, which for a first time listener provides the perfect overview of the band’s style. From the syncopated opening chords of the verse, to the full-scale mosh of the chorus, and even a trombone solo, I challenge anyone not to feel the urge to get up and dance to this.
Other album highlights include the up-tempo ‘Scum Triumphant’, with some extremely tight gang vocals, forming a call and answer effect with lead vocalist Robin Leitch, and probably the heaviest song on the album, ‘Anthropology’, featuring a lightening fast drum intro and samples of sirens running over the top of the trashy power chords of the main riff, reminding everyone of their hardcore roots.
As vocalist Robin Leitch says in the second track, ‘Scum Triumphant’, the band are known to ‘mess around with music fusion’, and he’s not lying: you can hear that the album contains influence from many different areas of the musical spectrum, from the obvious mix of ska and hardcore that the band is known for, through to the rap style vocals of many of the verses, and at times the album is also pushing the boundaries into the realms of nu-metal.
As mentioned previously, the final 5 tracks of the album are taken from the 2005 EP, ‘On The March’, and far from being just an added bonus, provide some of the strongest material on the album. ‘The Story’ sounds very much like early Slipknot, and the socially aware lyrics of ‘Morally Blind’ help to introduce the newer fans to the music of the band’s earlier days that may have been overlooked. It makes you wonder why the band didn’t re-release any of these tracks on the original version of Change Of Plan.
All in all, this is both a solid re-release and debut effort, creating a perfect equilibrium between two seemingly different genres, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. With influences ranging from Slipknot to The Specials, this band is the cream of the UK punk scene, and a must have for anyone interested in a fusion of genres. Warning - this music will make you want to move, but the main problem will be knowing whether to skank or to mosh.
