Bumpin’ Uglies – Keep It Together

Sometimes a band can throw you a curveball with their choice of band name and album cover, in this case a suspiciously familiar clown riding a unicycle whilst juggling chainsaws, can mislead you into assuming what’s contained within, Bumpin’ Uglies have certainly done that with their latest release, Keep It Together. I’ll admit this is a band that are new to me, I made assumptions about their likely sound and style, what I wasn’t expecting from this Maryland trio was this album to contain some seriously accomplished reggae and ska influenced punk.

For the most part Keep It Together is a mellow amalgamation of reggae and ska that occasionally ups the pace with an injection of punk attitude and adrenaline. For the majority of the album the reggae and ska influences are dominant, from the opening number of All In to the closing acoustic track, but this is an album that keeps things interesting by varying the level and mix of the three dominant influences, if I have to tell you what they are again you obviously haven’t been paying attention. My personal favourites are Sorry, I’m Not Sorry and Stop The Fall, but it’s not easy as this is a consistent and laid back album, with only the final acoustic number All That I Need not quite hitting the spot for me.

Bumpin’ Uglies have made a seriously impressive album and if you’re a fan of the likes of Sublime and the Mad Caddies then you’ll definitely want to get yourself a copy of Keep It Together. This is a very much a case of not judging an album by it’s cover, as this is an excellent hybrid of ska and punk that will accompany hazy nights, or days. The main problem with this album is that as I have now discovered they have an extensive back catalogue I’m going to have to make some serious investments.

Bumpin’ Uglies web presence can be found here and their bandcamp is here

You can order Keep It Together via iTunes and the usual sources