Gimpleg’s MUTINY review

Mutiny EP

In the event that you haven’t been paying attention, ska is in the midst of a huge resurgence and I absolutely love it. But what I love most about this current era of ska music is the diversity of sounds that make up this current era of ska. None of these bands are really trying to sound like each other, or just sound like their ska predecessors. Whether it is trad-ska, ska-punk, new tone, reggae influenced, grunge influenced, hyperska, or ska-core, this scene is growing and expanding, and the band’s are committed to a DIY ethic, and always supporting each other.

One particular direction the genre is expanding the most right now is ska-core. There are a wide array of bands that can be captured under the ska-core umbrella, and each band takes their own approach. Some bands are punk heavy ska that get lumped in with ska core, and some are hardcore bands with upstrokes and occasional danceable portions, typically with a horn or two added for texture and to maintain elements of the song. In the last few years we’ve had new music and debut albums from bands like Omnigone, Sgt Scag, PWRUP, Dissidente, Best of the Worst, Los Mal Hablados, Hans Gruber and the Die Hards, Stuck Lucky, and Roshambo and many others- each defining the genre in their own ways, with their own influences in both ska and hardcore, thrash, and metal, and always taking it in new directions. This week, we added another player into the mix and continued expanding the sound into unexpected directions.

Enter MUTINY. Mutiny consists of members from Dissidente, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Death By Stereo, Adolescents, and features honorary members from Japanese ska-core band Frail all coming together to create a new sound. The concept for this EP is incredible- it’s just 4 songs, but they all tell a story, with political implications, but it’s told through the story of a manga that was written and created to accompany the album. In fact, if you ordered the first pressing of the album, it also came with a copy of the manga that accompanied the album and told the same story in graphic form. Unfortunately for those who did not act quick enough, the first pressing sold out between the time the first single was released, and the day the album dropped just a week later. In addition to the original English versions of these 4 songs, the B side of the album features the two vocalists of Japanese ska-core band Frail singing the same 4 songs in Japanese.

So, how does it sound? Well, it’s fucking great. While I am not a fan of hardcore or metal music, and some of this was a too heavy for my preferences, I couldn’t help still enjoying it, and it’s anger and aggression hits fucking hard. The parts that lean more heavily into ska are amazing. This is the exact upper limit on hardcore I want in my ska, a little more than I prefer, but not so much to take away any of the pleasure I enjoy from the more ska portions. I sent the links to some hardcore friends that don’t like ska. I got back very similar responses. They fucking loved it, and said the ska didn’t detract at all. This bridges the genres in a way that feels perfect. Both the English and the Japanese versions feature dual vocalists, and the blending of their vocal styles play off each other perfectly, allowing for a blend of growls and aggressive vocals mixed with a little more melody, the drums are impeccable throughout, and guitars and bass are what you would expect, from either lens. The upstrokes and rhythm portions carry the songs, but there is no hesitation to shred, solo when appropriate. The horns are used sparingly through some songs, and are not so aggressive as to try and overpower the rest of the music, yet there are parts where the talent on the horns is allowed to express itself.

Also, I want to say, having the B side with Frail is absolutely brilliant. For many American fans, this will be the first exposure to Japanese ska-core, ska, and hardcore. Admittedly, I had only heard a handful of Japanese ska songs prior to this. Seeing how well they translated the lyrics and managed to make it fit into the same song with the same rhythm is beyond impressive, and gives me the goal to delve deeper, not only into Frail as a band, but into Japanese ska bands in general. If ska is inherently political (it is) and also about community building (it also is) then this album is perfect. Not only is it a confluence of members from many different bands, it’s messaging is inherently political, and their invitation of Frail to translate the album and include it builds that bridge across cultures to bring people together.

As a last thought on the album, I want to say how cool and creative it is to make an entire manga to tell a story, and then to write an album to be a narrative story for that manga. It allows an entirely different way to tell your story and to get your message out. The manga that came out with the album was a prologue for a bigger manga that is still in production. The fact that this is such a creative way to tell a story does not mean they are the first band to do it, but that doesn’t lessen the creativity involved. California’s Indica in Decay has also written a synth rock opera that has an accompanying comic book. Coheed and Cambria put out a comic book series with one of their albums, and the Inevitables released a comic book with their debut album last year. This is to say that bands are finding more ways to add to their story and narrative and reaching audiences in more ways than ever before. When people have a message to tell, using a single medium isn’t always enough, and music videos don’t always break through the noise. This is an expensive undertaking, but it may be worth it to help reach a broader audience and build a bigger community.

I’d also like to credit Ska Punk International, who released this album, for building an eclectic mix of ska bands and embracing the DIY ethos. They have brought in bands as varied as Canadian laptop bedroom emo ska bands like Yours Sincerely, to British dub and drum and bass influenced ska bands like Common Sense Kid, to the New York grunge infused Eevie Echoes and the Locations. Each of these bands debut albums were with Ska Punk International, as founder Cool Chris goes out of his way to find new and unique ska music and give it a platform.

The first Mutiny concert is going to be SPI Fest, on May 17th in Windsor Connecticut. This is the 2nd annual SPI fest, and unlike many fests, every year it plans to be in a new location to allow more people to see the show. Again, in the spirit of community, the festival is not exclusive to bands on SPI’s record label and it is not exclusive to ska music, as hardcore band Bondbreakr has already been announced to be playing as well.

If you care about community, music, and building a better world where people care about one another, and where the world isn’t run by greed and where marginalized people aren’t exploited as resources and commodities, then support your local scene. Build your community. Perhaps you could pick up this album, go to a show. If you can go to SPI fest, pick up your tickets, if not, maybe it will be somewhere closer next year.

Gimpleg

Source: punxinsolidarity.wordpress.com