There are some pretty cool UK ska bands on the rise at the minute. Infact, go to any US band’s headline show and you’ll find at least one very good UK band in support. One such band are Lubby Nugget, a bunch of Yorkshire lads whose fusion of punk, ska and reggae has gathered quite a bit of praise from the underground in the last few months. And their debut record, ‘Subtle Crucial’ is one of the most inventive records I’ve heard in ages.
Opener ‘A Visit From The Crack Fairy’ features brass, a digeredoo [I kid you not!] and some pretty cool ska. I’m not convinced that an instrumental is the best way to kick off a record, but it’s still a good way to get your groove on. The first ‘proper’ song is the cleverly titled ‘Rambo No 5’, another classy ska number. Again it’s a dancefloor classic, a song which you can easily skank to. The only flaw is that the vocals aren’t loud enough and this unfortunately plagues the entire record. Still, it’s only a minor quibble.
‘Clatsby’s Disco Dinner’ fuses dub and reggae with punk and ‘Flesh Pimp’ is just pure filth. It’s cool and funny with its slow paced rythmn, and lyrics like “she should know that I’m not that easy, to get my shit down with any lady, get diseases, not too good for the genital part of me.” Ok… The faster pace of ‘Trevor’s Pole’ adds a bit of variation to the sound, sounding like a poor man’s Reel Big Fish. ‘On The Floor’ starts off a bit like the Mad Caddies which is definitely a good thing and the song continues in fantastic form. It’s a lot more simple than some of their other songs and it works very well. Just the vocals are once again a bit low in the mix for my liking.
‘SDW’ is again filth personified with lyrics that would probably make the likes of Diesel Boy and Blink 182 blush. You’ve gotta feel sorry for Tom’s sister with the hilarious ‘1-900 Tomsis’, a tale of how she stars in a porno magazine. It’ll also make you sway and move your feet, such is the groove that the band create. ‘Flump’ is more straight-up punk with a really bizarre guitar effect for the intro riff. But it’s refreshing that the band can mix all of their influences to make something that is original and not like many of the numerous Less Than Jake wannabes that are out there. Oh, and it’s lyrically disgusting again…and very funny… Each song has references to porn, beer and girls and not neccessarily in that order.
‘Flump’ then glides nicely into ‘Donut Bomb’ which will sound brilliant in the car with the windows down on a hot summers day. With a hint of Sublime, it’s another good song. ‘Beava Rita’ is skatastic, but not quite punktastic. It sounds like a reject [spunge] song…sorry guys! But ‘Working Her’ is much better even after a bizarre intro which sounds like someone is crying. Maybe it’s just my hearing, I dunno. Writing a song about the girls who flash their arses in rap videos is a masterstroke and ‘Booty’ is an album highlight. With a more conventional song structure, it may be less inventive, but hey, the song rocks.
And the great times continue to roll with ‘Towny Boy’, a clever tirade against trendies and with more swearing than you’re average Limp Bizkit song, it’s very cool too. The record ends with the skankalicious ‘One Club City‘ which, yep, you guessed it, is yet another tale about getting drunk, stoned and laid. Still, we’ve all done it so we can all empathise.
Lubby Nuggett aren’t going to take over the world with this record, but it’s a refreshing slice of ska that deserves to be listened to. If I’m being ultra-critical then there aren’t enough memorable moments on this record. There are plenty of great moments, but not enough to transcend into a blinding debut. Still, it’s fun, rude and clever all at the same time. And if you go to a gig this year, it’s more than likely you’ll see them supporting…
Paul Savage