ALBUM REVIEW: Steppin’ Razor Blades – Stay Sharp (Screaming Crow Records)
Steppin’ Razor Blades are a new ska band formed in New England by Dan ‘Bopper’ O’Day, mainstay of long-running Vermont punks River City Rebels.
He’s joined by members of River City Rebels and New Hampshire punk rock ‘n’ rollers Hell Beach to form a seven-piece collective who celebrate classic two-tone revival sounds.
Stay Sharp is their debut album, and it’s got a singular mission: to get people on their feet and up dancing. They succeed from the get-go over the course of 10 highly infectious original songs.
It kicks off with lead single Friend To A Memory, which, like all the tracks here, is drenched with sax and keys, adding a ska-punk veneer to the basic guitar-bass-drums sound.
Jim Jones Lovers is even more upbeat, and first single In Stereo keeps the vibe going, before the Joe Strummer-quoting Ska Boy/Ska Girl urges unity among people from different backgrounds.
Mundane is far from it; in fact it’s another high-energy song about leading a humdrum existence while daring to dream of something better, driven by a great wandering bassline and awash with keys.
Attention-seeking influencers are the target of standout track Keep That Shit, with vocalist Jordan Vorachak urging “shut the fuck up, keep that shit to yourself – censor yourself!”
The joys of losing yourself on the dancefloor at the end of a working week are espoused in Breakneck Speed, while Shootin’ Daggers calls out people who are quick to judge others.
Things take a darker and more political twist on True Drug Lords, which takes aim at big pharma, while things come to a spirited end with latest single Coming Of Age.
Stay Sharp is a great modern take on the classic two-tone sound, managing to sound nostalgic yet relevant at the same time. 7.5/10
- Stay Sharp by Steppin’ Razor Blades is available digitally, on black and orange with black splatter vinyl, and on CD (with bonus tracks), from Screaming Crow Records’ Bandcamp page HERE.
