Sleeping With The Enemy,
Mr ShirazIf you live in or around West Yorkshire, chances are you will have heard or seen Mr Shiraz. The madcap ska monkeys are seemingly everywhere, having taken over residence as support at the majority of the larger Leeds gigs. If you've not seen them then you're missing out - if you have, you'll already know everything there is to know. This single-cum-EP is the first to be released on Blunt Monkey Records and is a taster for their live show. There are actually seven people in Mr Shiraz (i think, although live there always seems to be a bloody stage full of the buggers) although I have no idea what some of them do. According to the press release, Chris (Shiraz's answer to Less Than Jake's skullman) is the 'entity' of the band. Hmm...
'Sleeping With The Enemy' is a fun EP which encompasses everything that ska bands should have - lots of brass, funky guitars and catchy melodies. If Coolio sang songs about bands like Mr Shiraz, he'd call it 'Skanksters Paradise' (groan). Anyway, the title track itself is just shy of three minutes and combines all those elements to have you humming, tapping, singing and even skanking along. Infact if you want to perfect your moves, whack this on, get in front of the mirror and go for it! The trombone and other brass instruments fit rather snugly, the guitars drive along nicely and it's put together rather nicely.
'Good Mourning', which incidentally has nothing to do with the new Alkaline Trio album, slows things down a tad showcasing the more sensitive side of Mikey's voice. If ever there was a track which bordered on skemo (y'know, ska+emo) then this could possibly be it. The bassline drives things forward around a reptitive guitar riff while the horns are used to keep things sounding fresh. But things don't stay quiet for long as the infectious 'Roadblock' wraps things up. With Latin influences in the horns, there's definitely a continental flavour through the verses before the beefier chorus.
Mr Shiraz aren't quite up to the standards of LTJ or the Mad Caddies just yet but this is fun with a capital F. If you like your ska to be catchy, crazy and cool then Shiraz are for you. This EP is one for the summer mixtapes, so catch them at a venue near you this summer and skank your ass off.
www.mrshiraz.co.uk
Paul
