Two years on from ‘Pin Points and Gin Joints’, the band’s first post-hiatus album proper, THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES return with ‘The Magic of Youth’, an 11-track collection of what can best be described as typical Bosstone tunes.
Despite having all but invented ska-core music, nobody has ever accused the Bosstones of being the most original of bands out there. It should come as no surprise then that this release isn’t about to buck tradition. The Massachusetts band’s ninth studio album is packed to the brim with up tempo ska riffs, brazen brass sections, and the inimitable vocals of one Dicky Barrett – just like the eight records that came before it.
Stand-out tracks on the album include ‘The Daylights’ (a hi-octane opener that’s made for gang sing-alongs) and ‘Sunday Afternoon on Wisdom Avenue’ (a jubilant skanking number akin to the 2007 comeback single ‘Don’t Worry Desmond Dekker’).
To be fair, the record is of a consistently high calibre (there’s not a duff track within hearing shot), which in a way is indicative of the Bosstones’ career itself. Whilst having never released a truly ‘great’ record, the band has always been quality consistent, and that’s at the higher end of the scale.
Die-hard fans will lap-up ‘The Magic of Youth’. Those not familiar with the band can use this new release as a launching pad, something that you don’t often say of a band that’s be going for some 28 years!
Ultimately, it may be far from original but ‘The Magic of Youth’ does delight. It’s a Mighty Mighty Bosstones record through and through; you know what you’re going to get and it’s all but impossible not to enjoy it.
ALEX HAMBLETON