The Toasters – One More Bullet

I really don’t think, at this point, that The Toasters need an introduction. After 25 years of defining and redefining American ska, they’ve pretty much done all that they can with the genre without resorting to the addition of pop punk hooks and metalcore breakdowns. So where does that leave their newest arrival One More Bullet? Well, to be completely honest, more of the same. However, by no means is this a negative thing at all, as this could quite possibly be their best release since 97’s Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down. Now, that’s quite a large statement for one person to be making, I’m sure, however this album has the balls to back up my claims with 12 solid tracks and absolutely no filler whatsoever.

Musically, this is all gold. The experience The Toasters possess is immediately apparent, as they’ve perfectly fine-tuned their approach to ska so that not one aspect overpowers another. There’s a significant use of horns and keyboards, but it doesn’t drown out the vocals and other instruments. One More Bullet opens up with “What A Gwan” with shouted vocals and a sense of playfulness from both vocalists. This type of playful bombastic energy is used throughout the entire album, only slowing the tempo at parts where it’s nessecary. Tracks like “Run Rudy Run Redux” and “One More Bullet” show this. The rest of them are just plain fun to sing along to, especially “El Chopo“.

Lyrically, The Toasters cover a wide variety of topics, littered with sarcasm and wit, ranging from CCTV, bootleg shops, politics and on my personal favourite track “You’re Gonna Pay”, all the people in the music industry who’ve done them wrong over their lifespan as a band. All sung from Hingley’s expert vocals.

There isn’t much to be said about One More Bullet that hasn’t already been said on previous Toasters albums. I will say that I’ve found my summer album. This makes me want to dance. I’d be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn’t say the same.