With the new 'Rise Up' EP on its way (expect a review within days!), and the [spunge] and Farse tour going so astoundingly well I thought it was high time to revisit this stunning EP.
Recently re-released, it contains 5 tracks, ranging from punk rock with some ska overtones to all out skanktastic ska. It serves as a useful introduction to your next favourite band, since its tracks are usually played live and are good indicators of their style.
The title track opens proceedings in a deceptively quiet fashion. It's all very quiet bit-loud bit-skanky bit which may seem a trifle lame, but I assure you it is a top-notch song. The chorus is laden with crunching guitars specifically designed to get whoever's listening to it jumping like a loon, and is followed by a nice chilled horn interlude. It's not as fast as some of the other songs on the EP but is a fine, subtle song.
Subtlety and the next song 'Cloned' go together like a shoe and a kneecap. It's just silly. Sublime horns get the whole affair started, the first verse is deceptively quiet...and then it all goes a bit. With the lilting, soaring brass section taking the reins for a classic 'whoa, whoa-o-o-o' bridge this has long been a staple of the Spankboy live show and to top it off it even takes the pace down yet again, only for everything to crash in once more in a gloriously summery ending!
Another ska-flavoured track follows, by the Iberian name of 'Amores Equando'. The musicianship of the band is most evident here, with Oli's drumming taking charge, cueing in the guitar, at times as crunching and heavy as it is light and sunny in others. A fitting ska-drenched finale gives way to an abrupt ending, leaving the listener wanting more, in the best of ways.
The final vocal track is 'No Regrets'. It's an anthem for the skanking masses, a typical ska song which is minimal in places to serve as a strong juxtaposed contrast with the frankly metallic riffage which is dropped in seemingly at will. That's why I find Spankboy so impressive - the ability to drop in little touches of difference here and there to make themselves stand out from the crowd.
The last track is an intstrumental. 'El Funnolini' is the soundtrack to one of the 'boy's live japes (pouring a pint of beer down some poor bugger's throat with the aid of a large funnel) which was sadly absent from the recent tour. It's one long build up to a climax, replete with atmospheric screams and claps and doesn't disappoint at its apex. The duelling brass section weave round the funky bassline and finally appear to lose the plot completely yet manage to drag it back for one final mess of brass, bubbles and jollity. It's a live show in a track: fun, messy, and downright stupid. And that's how it should be.
'Medication' is available on the current tour, and from the band's website www.spankboy.net. I recommend it as an ideal introduction to them, and to anyone who has some kind of liking whatsoever for quality ska punk, for it is a prime example of British talent taking a genre and making it their own.
BEN
