Land of the Rising SKA? One Step Bus “SKAlcohol” (Review)

I was turned on to ska at the same time everyone else in my generation was. When the ska/swing revival of the late ’90s took place: Squirrel Nut Zippers, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Reel Big Fish, Rx Bandits, etc (and for CCM fans, there was Five Iron Frenzy, Supertones, and The Insyderz). And since that revival wave came and went, I’ve had an undying, passionate love for music with horns and people saying “Oy! Oy! Oy!”

And so, 13 years after my first run-in with ska and first learning how to “skank,” I’m sitting at home browsing JapanFiles when I run into a band being promoted as Japan’s premiere ska group. One Step Bus is the band’s name, and their latest album is entitled SKAlcohol. I couldn’t help myself. I immediately downloaded the album.

Was I pleased, or sorely disappointed? Find out after the jump!

SKATASTIC TRACKLIST!

01 Return My Martens!
02 Reunion
03 Things
04 Childish mind
05 Seven Feelings
06 Interlude
07 Let You Free
08 The Bright World
09 As You Are
10 I’m Just Doing It

So here’s the deal. I bought this album thinking the guys would be singing in Japanese, but otherwise putting on all the trappings of a ska band. But not, the vocalist is pulling out an 100% English album. I wanted to experience this distinctive style of music in a foreign language, and I didn’t get what I want. Boo-hoo.

Now, for a Japanese listener, they get the foreign language they want. And what’s more, it won’t bother the average Japanese listener that “Engrish” pronunciations of words are frequently used. But it bothers me. If you’re going to sing in English, then I’m going to listen to the lyrics and try to figure out what you’re saying. This proved to be a futile exercise more often than not. I heard him say something about Bob Marley in the song “Reunion,” and he’s talking about “rude boys clapping their hands” in the song “Childish mind.” That’s about it. I am somewhat interested in what they’re saying, as clever track titles like “Return My Martens!” (doc martens shoes) make me smile.

But I don’t want to dwell on the English lyrics, because there’s a lot of good stuff here. Instrumentally, the album isn’t just a solid attempt at mimicking a Western music genre. It’s actually a strong, legitimate entry into the canon of ska music. The horn melodies are totally catchy. The bari sax parts are particularly awesome. The rest of the band captures the ska sound perfectly. Even the vocals, ignoring the words spoken, are great. The vocal harmonies, the upbeat sound and flavor… it’s all there. And I can’t help but love it.

The album runs slightly under 40 minutes in length. If you like horn sections in your bands, you’re sure to enjoy this album. The production value in the music is excellent; the music is fun, you can dance to most of it, and it will make you reminisce about the glory days of the ’90s ska revival.

Again, the place to go to get this album digitally is JapanFiles. One Step Bus might be my new favorite Japanese band to follow and obsess over. And, with luck, maybe I’ll discover some new work where they choose to sing in Japanese, and I’ll enjoy that even more. What do you think of the concept? Would you have any interest in a Japanese ska band?