This is the first ska record I have had the pleasure of covering in a while and I am surprised by how much I enjoyed listening to it. My affair with ska is much akin to a sandwich toaster. You love it and use it all the time, and then you get sick of it and don’t touch it for what seems like a lifetime. Then you get it out and the sandwiches simply don’t stop coming. If you see the weakly linked analogy then well done, otherwise ignore me and read on. What I’m trying to say is I have missed Ska music. That and toasties.
It all begins strongly enough with ‘Watch the World Go By’ which is reminiscent of heavier Catch 22 efforts as we are led from a lovely trumpet opening into snarling vocals of guitarist Nick and it is an extremely impressive opener. ‘9-5 Army’ follows it up capably enough with some snappy pace changes which work well with the bleak outlook of the song as a rousing third quarter of the 3.24 stands out. Title track ‘As the Night Fades We Turn Up the Heat’ features a hardcore-esque opening riff before we settle down into familiar territory and the song once again turns into another strong effort. ‘Mute Conclusion’ is the first stereotypical foray into the pace and charm of ska and is certainly one for the skankers out there. The inevitable comparisons to Capdown will be made on tracks such as ‘Its Not Right’ and ‘I Still Got the Music’ as a thumping drumbeat dominates both songs with fuzzy guitars and the brass section also playing their part. It closes on the fantastically named ‘Quick Somebody Call an Ambience’, which isn’t quite on par with what we have come to expect but is still a solid effort.
Mute Conclusion are one of the better unsigned acts I have heard in the last six months as they blend a surprising mix of some hardcore and street punk tendencies with the delicacies of ska very well. They don’t bow down to many of the expected stereotypes of their chosen area and to be frank it works in their favour a lot. Track them down if you can.
www.muteconclusion.com
Jay