Subb – The Motions

There are a few tours which come by here once a year, always with a different set of bands, that I always love to see. The Grind Tour is one of those tours – and this year’s lineup is amazing like always. Mad Caddies, Satanic Surfers and The Loved Ones, who could ask for a better match up? But of course, the tour isn’t just three bands, Quebec’s Subb rounds of the tour, and after finally being introduced to them through The Motions, the tour is even more inviting.

The sixteen track album is easily one of the best ska albums I’ve heard in a long time, I mean, who knew there was still great ska being made? Oddly, the worst song on the album is the title track and single. This slow downed reggae track just doesn’t seem to fit into the flow of the album amongst the lightning fast A Little More Of Chomsky (A Little Less You & Me) and Make Trade Fair. But other than that one hiccup, the rest of the album seems to flow perfectly. They have the rhythmic sensibilities of most ska bands melded with the high energy punk rock mentality – and that combination works together perfectly to create a solid album from start to finish. Even the Rancid cover song for Tattoo sounds amazing.

While some songs do tend to blend into the mix, there’s enough variation amongst the songs to keep the listener entertained throughout the whole album. And not only is the beat energizing, the lyrics aren’t anything to scoff at either and make it even better to sing along with. Quarter To Seven tells the story of two people going to a ska show decked out in suits, dancing shoes and pork-pie hats, and the instant the chorus comes into play (“Oh!Oh!Oh! Who said that the beat was dead? The revolutions in my head! Oh!Oh!Oh! Who said that the beat was dead? Ska revival’s in my head“) I can picture myself dancing in the pit one week from now at the Grind Tour. Fashionistas takes a stab at the whole emo/screamo trend with “And now you scream and I wanna know: why are you so angry and mad? But I can’t understand what the singer is singing and why they are whining? And nowadays, as crazy as it seems, they are all wearing the same kind of jeans“. They also have a few political outbursts, like The Factories which attack the problems with pollution and We Can Rest When We’re Dead that reminds us of all the information that is out there for us to pay attention to.

Really, The Motions is a fun ska album. Ska fans will love it.And I can’t wait to skank to their live show in one week, it has somehow made me more excited for the show.