Record Label: Asian Man
Genre: Ska
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

I was hoping to like it – I’m still a huge Toasters fan and was really enthusiastic and excited about the album. But I have to say, it’s a pretty long wait for an album whose highlight is a ska version of “Sweet Home Alabama.”

The album had a low production budget, and sounds very sparse, almost garagey. It doesn’t have the polished sound of Dub 56 of Hard Band, but is more on the DLTBGYD raw side. Also, the lack of organ/keys really threw me off, and the horns don’t seem to mesh well.

The first few songs aren’t that great – they’re okay but forgettable as they lack the usual Toasters catchy hooks and riffs. The first track “Skafinger” is just a throw-away tune, as is “Barney” (which was written years ago to kill time when someone onstage popped a string or needed to re-tune.) The Buford cover is kind of pointless (it’s not that good, and it’s already been released anyway), and the cover of “Social Security” doesn’t offer more than the original.

However, I did like some of the songs towards the middle and end of the album. “Why Oh Why,” “Sitting On Top of the World,” and “Pendulum” are great, and “Pirate Radio” is sweetly nostalgic. “Dog Eat Dog” and “Enemy of the System” continue the Toasters’ lyrical trend of defeatism and self-martyrdom, which is getting kind of old. All in all, I think the album is decent after a couple listens, but weak considering it took years to come out and is filled with covers, throw-away songs, and live staples they’ve been doing for years. It’s not bad, but there’s just too much filler.

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