ALBUM REVIEW: The Slackers – Don’t Let the Sunlight Fool Ya! (Pirates Press Records)
Summer is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than by chilling out to the new album by The Slackers?
They have been making records for more than 30 years now, and deserve to be treated like the US ska legends they undoubtedly are.
Formed in Manhattan, New York, in 1991, their sound is much more than just ska, adding rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and even a little jazz into the mix.
This is, by my reckoning, their 15th studio album, but their first for six years, and their first for Pirates Press Records.
Original member
They’re a band who just seem to get better with age, despite a roll-call which has seen many changes over the years, with keyboardist and singer Vic Ruggiero the sole remaining original member.
Dare I say it, the latest line-up is looking fairly settled, with Ruggiero joined by Jay “Agent Jay” Nugent on guitar, Dave Hillyard on saxophone, Glen Pine on trombone and vocals, Marcus Geard on bass and Ara Babajian on drums.
They certainly sound like a band who’ve been playing together a long time, even though most of the members have and still play in other projects.
Most of the album was recorded during quarantine, and they hit the ground running from the get-go with the laid-back vibe of opening track Windowland, which was released as a very special ‘stained glass look’ single last December. It addresses the surreal situation in which we found ourselves in that spring/summer of 2000, when you couldn’t go out in public without wearing a mask.
Next up is the title track, which was also trailed as a single, and it’s a soulful gem set to a gentle reggae rhythm, and lit up with gorgeous little keyboard flourishes. The cheery tune hides a foreboding lyric about everything not quite being what it seems.
Hanging On is a skanking song about having dreams and hopes, despite getting older and seeing your aspirations dashed, while I Almost Lost You is a contemplative love song about nearly losing someone you care deeply about.
Getting political
They Are Losing, punctuated by some meandering sax, sees The Slackers having their say on the Trump administration. The message is clear as Ruggiero sings: “And no matter how tall/You can build a wall/That Tower of Babel/It don’t quite turn out like you thought.”
Side two kicks off with Statehouse, which again sees The Slackers get all political, asking: “They don’t fly swastikas in Germany/No shrines to Mussolini in Italy/So why it’s ok to see/That Confederate flag in front of me?”
Second Best, which appears to be about loving someone unconditionally, is one of the highlights of the album, and it’s followed by Nobody’s Listening, an upbeat boogie-woogie tune which was also released as a 12in single.
Way Of A Woman and Time Won’t Set You Free both have an old-fashioned reggae lilt, while Boogie Nowhere has a delightful wandering rock n’ roll bassline.
This is a record you’ll listen to over and over again, finding something different to enjoy each time. In other words, a typical Slackers album. 8/10.
- Don’t Let the Sunlight Fool Ya is on 11 different 12in vinyl variants – some of them only available in very small numbers – and you can get it direct from Pirates Press Records HERE.
