The Screw Ups are a six piece from
Connecticut and Massachusetts and claim to be a Ska/Reggae/Punk band. I was maybe expecting something along the
lines of The Clash but instead got more of the Ska and less of the Punk. Their new EP, lovingly titled ‘EP’ is
actually a nice little affair with six very pleasing tracks.
Opening with Watch Yourself, a
cracking Ska tune and very much in the vein of The Specials or Selector. Steaming along with a catchy chorus and a
perfect saxophone solo, it’s nice to hear a modern day American band doing
something very un-American and doing it well.
Once upon a time in the 80s this would have been a hit single, maybe not
so now, or, who knows?
The Screw Ups have been together
since High School and have developed a good, solid, tight sound. On My Way is probably more Northern Soul/Pop
than anything and again it’s a tried and tested formula that works well. Produced by dNash together with band members
Julian Wahlberg and Nico Bonvini, they’ve done a sterling job, and there can’t
really be any complaints on this front.
There’s a great opportunity for some
very decent dub mixes of Lie Awake. A
reggae tune with great bass, guitar and hi-hats it would have been a monster of
a track with a few dub effects thrown in.
As it is, it’s a decent enough track with huge potential which the band
might want to revisit in the future.
The Screw Ups have clearly been very
influenced by English Ska and there’s more than a passing resemblance to The
Beat in their sound, and vocally there’s the occasional UB40 Campbell brother
here too. No Truth even has a hint of
Joe Jackson to Wahlberg’s voice.
Overall, they have a good sound
which could win them plenty of fans. I’d
imagine they’re pretty good on the live circuit too and they could do a lot
worse than getting themselves over to the UK and playing some support slots to
established Ska/Reggae acts.
One to watch.
Links
Published on Louder Than War 8/06/12 - here
Good find
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