THE PLANET SMASHERS – Descent Into The Valley Of The Planet Smashers

It has been six years since Canada’s own The Planet Smashers released their last album, Unstoppable. With their newest effort, Descent into the Valley of The Planet Smashers, not much has changed in their sound. The songs are upbeat and catchy, full of their signature hard-hitting bass line-driven ska-punk, and the lyrics are humorous and lighthearted.

Listening to the 15 tracks featured here, I can’t help but think back and reminisce about the good old ’90s where music like this was being put out on a massive scale. Along with the carefree pop-punk ska sound The Smashers are known for, bands like Buck O’ Nine and early Big D and The Kids Table come to mind when I sit and listen to the material here. The album’s opening cut, “The Hippopotamus,” is extremely catchy, and “UPS of America” presents some social commentary but remains to be humorous and non-preachy.

An unexpected twist comes in at the 12th track in the form of the song “Something Special,” as the band breaks from the punk-ska sound to favor something more traditional in the ska vein.

Descent into the Valley of The Planet Smashers is another enjoyable album from the veteran skankers from the great white north. Fans of the ’90s pop-punk ska sound will dig this.

(Stomp Records, 1223 Blvd. Saint-Laurent, Suite 305, Montreal, QC H2X 2S6 Canada)

MAD CADDIES – Consentual Selections

After 15 years, five full length albums, and a rotating roster of musicians, the Mad Caddies are pulling out all the stops and are finally releasing a “best of” album. Consensual Selections features 22 cuts from the Caddies past plus two new tracks. For those unfamiliar to the the Caddies’ sound, their eclectic ska-punk sound is mixed with various musical influences. From polka (“All American Badass”), to Spanish (“Just One More”), and even pirate dirge (“Weird Beard”), the boys from Solvang, California have remained true to their whimsical yet musically impressive roots year after year, album after album — even if the California ska scene has returned to its underground two-toned cave in recent times.

The tracks selected for this album do a really good job representing the essence of the Mad Caddies. Most of the tracks here focus mainly on the Caddies music after their debut album Quality Soft Core, although they did add “The Bell Tower” and “Preppy Girl” to show off their oldest material (where’s “Crew Cut Chuck?”). “Save Us” and “Why Must I Wait” are two previously unreleased songs, both of which don’t disappoint.

Consensual Selections would be fitting for someone new to the Caddies, but for those who have been singing along with these tunes for nearly two decades, this is a fine tribute to one of the best third-wave ska acts to come out of the Golden State.

(Fat Wreck Chords, PO Box 19360, San Francisco, CA 94119)