Skittish Itz – Back To Reality

Idaho’s Skittish Itz have been with us since the winter of 2006, meaning that they have been relentlessly touring and plying their own brand of frantic ska tinged punk rock for almost ten years. This quintet feature the usual guitars, drums and bass but also features a member, Haffstack, who is billed as ‘pure awesomeness’ alongside his role of fill in guitar, I don’t think any other band I’ve encountered has made that claim of one of their members! Back To Reality is the follow up to last years Start The Game mini album and their latest offering picks up exactly where their last release left off.

From the opening number CDL Class B, it’s clear that Skittish Itz don’t take themselves too seriously, they play an infectious brand of pop punk which has a strong ska influence, this skanking beat blends in seamlessly with the cartoonish punk style and adds to the upbeat tone of the album. Numbers such as Midlife Crisis Man and Hungry Hungry Hipsters, which is one of my favourite song titles of 2016, are light hearted and entertaining without veering too far into the comedy end of punk to mark them out as a novelty act. Underneath the light hearted approach and comedic lyrical content there is some grit and substance to their music.

This album will appeal immensely to fans of the likes of Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish and their sound is pitched somewhere between the two bands output, that pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Back To Reality is eleven tracks of light hearted punk rock that is done with style, it combines punk rock attitude, frantic skanking guitar riffs and anthemic choruses that together make a highly enjoyable album. Back To Reality might not be an original take on punk rock, but it is one that’s fun and bouncy enough to keep you happy throughout the twenty four minutes that the eleven tracks are done and dusted in

You can order Back To Reality here

The Hidden Home Records web presence can be found here