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How about this: Ska is played by Jamaicans, listened to by skinheads, and essentially represents an offbeat version of classic soul. The music is cheerful, danceable, and in its nature as an entertainment product, lyrically unpretentious. The bands also have names that humorlessly incorporate the genre's name.
At the latest, the sum of these characteristics would trigger the notorious "Skallergie" in me (if that doesn’t already exist as a band name, feel free to take it).
Fortunately, this doesn’t quite fit with the present CD. THE SOUNDABOUT comes from Amsterdam in beautiful Holland and also sings in the local language. Speaking of another prejudice: Dutch is said to be not a language but a throat disease. Honestly, how often have I had to hear abroad that my language sounds like dog barking, from people who might have heard German once in a documentary about Hitler... And just as one can whisper sweet words into the ear of their beloved in German without them running away, one can also write, sing, and rap in Dutch without sounding like a cheese grater (There, again! Who finds that cliché?).
It sounds good, even if you don’t understand it; it has flow, melody, and a funky rhythm. And those who are proficient in Dutch or, like me, ask Google for translation will discover that the lyrics are not trivial but cleverly socially critical. Different perspectives are adopted, highlighting the daily contradictions in our modern lives: between wanting to work and not being allowed to, toiling until burnout, wanting to buy everything on credit until the crash, presenting oneself, and hoping for simple solutions to diffuse fears in daily politics is surprisingly well conveyed in six songs.
Then there’s the music, and it’s simply a matter of whether you like Ska or not. I could listen to the six tracks in 23 minutes without getting bored; there’s enough variety. I found the title track, which is also the slowest, outstanding. It is, atypically for the genre, not cheerful but contemplative and has, as the only song, a deliberately placed distorted guitar in the chorus that creates just the right pressure to emphasize the mood. But otherwise, the songs are consistently well-written, always featuring interesting ideas, riffs, and hooks that stick. With a band that has been active for eight years, you can expect that. It’s a shame that due to the language barrier, one is limited to a relatively manageable audience, but this is often the question for German bands as well – do I sing in my mother tongue, in which I can express things like in no other, or do I aim for the entire English-speaking world?
For those who want to finally taste the music instead of my many words, you can check out a lekker video or dive into the whole CD in digital form, as it is available for streaming and downloading on the band's site. Pick it up!
P.S.: In the spirit of transparency in fanzine culture, I must publicly disclose that I co-founded the Surf Club Haarlem with the band's trombonist about 7 years ago. Its existence was primarily to promote listening to surf music while consuming whiskey, and furthermore, membership was exclusively reserved for the two of us and obligated us not to learn to surf under any circumstances. Cowabunga!
