‘Metal Was Metal’, the second track on this album, sees ex-Whitmore man Robb Blake lamenting on the state of the music world. 14 years ago Pantera and Sepultura were rocking Donington, and seven years ago ska-punk was A-list. “Where’s all the good shit gone?” he questions. It seems that although Whitmore hung-up the gloves Blake was far from finished with touring, drinking and generally having a good time. Album number three, ‘Ain’t Got No Soul’, is about exactly that.
If you’ve heard any of Blake‘s previous solo releases you’ll know what’s on offer here. For the most part it’s ska-punk done one-man-band stylee, not so much stripped down to the Chris Murray guitar/vocal combo as just a couple of layers taken off say Less Than Jake, or Whitmore for that matter.
Blake provides plenty of instrumentation to divvy it up a little (the organ sounds particularly encouraging), the moniker ‘One Man Ska Explosion’ holding up. There’s a steady mix of up tempo skank-along numbers (‘Highways’, the title track) and some toned down almost forlorn tracks (‘Warm Me Bones’, ‘Million Miles’). Opener ‘What You Do’ is a heavy number (by this standard, it’s not Slayer or anything) whilst ‘Here I Am’ has a 2-tone feel to it, owing a fair whack to The Beat‘s ‘Tears of a Clown’ perhaps. It’s a mixed bunch without being so dissimilar it falls out of joint.
In all honesty, ‘Ain’t Got No Soul’ is doesn’t feel like all that much of an improvement on previous releases, yet nor does it sound any less accomplished. Blake is simply bobbing along at his own pace, doing his own thing, seemingly content with the hand he’s been dealt. Certainly there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s admirable even, and at the end of the day this album is hard not to like. It also makes a pretty decent candidate for the summer BBQ boombox.
Alex