ALBUM REVIEW: The Interrupters – Live In Tokyo (Hellcat/Epitaph)
For 10 years, Los Angeles-based ska-punks The Interrupters have been building a reputation as a must-see live band.
Now, thanks to this recording of their 2019 performance at Tokyo’s Summer Sonic Festival, you can judge what all the fuss is about.
Featuring 10 songs and lasting just under 35 minutes, it’s less than half the length of their regular live set.
But it shows that if any current band is good enough to bring ska back into the mainstream, it’s them.
The Interrupters have toured with the likes of Rancid, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake.
In my opinion, they have everything it takes to be better than them all.
Under the patronage of Rancid’s Tim Armstrong they have become a band more than capable of breaking through.
They’re fronted by the effervescent Aimee, who looks and sounds like she enjoys every moment on stage, and she’s backed – literally – by a band of brothers.
Her partner Kevin Bivona, who produced Live In Tokyo!, plays guitar, with his brothers, twins Justin and Jesse, on bass and drums.
They’re as tight as you’d expect a band of brothers to be, and have improved with every album.
This festival set is all killer, no killer, and perfectly balanced between all three of their albums.
It has three songs from each, plus one cover version – a slick, skanked-up take on Billie Eilish’s pop hit Bad Guy.
Unity music
They call it ‘unity music’, with no room for racism, sexism, homophobia or bigotry of any kind.
A Friend Like Me sets out their stall from the beginning, with Aimee’s enthusiasm and energy proving infectious, and her voive veering towards a punky rasp at times.
By My Side, Title Holder, Take Back The Power, She Got Arrested, and On A Turntable are all songs which could get any venue skanking.
If this music doesn’t strike a cord, you must be made of stone, but almost before it’s started, the set reaches a glorious celebratory conclusion with Family, which bears the aforementioned Tim Armstrong’s fingerprints.
Is it punk? Is it ska? Who cares? Given the right breaks, The Interrupters could be the first band since No Doubt in the late ’90s to make ska cool again.
The Interrupters toured in the UK just before Covid-19 hit, and are due back with the Dropkick Murphys in 2022 for their Turn Up That Dial tour.
More to come
This album is a measure of how far they’ve come, but I don’t think we’ve seen the best of them yet. I can’t wait to hear their next record. 9/10.
- In celebration of the release, the band will broadcast their documentary film Live in Tokyo – This Is My Family! on Friday, June 25, at 6pm BST/7pm CEST.
The film features the live performance from Summer Sonic, behind the scenes footage, and exclusive interviews. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
