via a local music store (now lamentably gone) selling used CDs for really cheap. Thus I discovered ska, well into its vogue and over-run with acts I could enjoy.

 

As with everything I "discover,"  I seem to stay with it while the rest of popular culture moves onward (don't ask how long it took me to decide to let my mullet grow out, just don't).  So it was to my great pleasure that an invitation to review Mrs. Skannotto's free 2014 sampler landed in my mailbox.  The fact they are based in my hometown is really thick icing on an already delicious cake (I like icing. Lots of icing.)  I probably should have guessed from the name that Mrs. Skanotto came from Rochester, NY due to the very Italian name. The ska band consists of Alex Bochetto (drums), Dan Carter (bass), Evan Dobbins (trombone), Mike Frederick (guitar), Joe Harmon (vocals), and Justin Lloyd (trumpet). Rochester, NY is home to lots of Italians and the attendant restaurants - the continuing importance of traditional Catholic dietary practices means we have a Friday fish-fry tradition to die for.

 

But, you probably don't care much about all that.  You're here to find out about the music, which is really, really good.  The four songs of the sampler include two teasers for the new album Outliers ("Phantom Pain" and "Games Without Frontiers"), one from 2013's All These Evolutions ("Free Speech Zone") and an alternative version of their "I Don't Care," also off Outliers.

 

Outliers, eleven killer tunes spanning the variety of ska, from its most punk ("Phantom Pain," "The Outlier") to its more swing-y ("The Losing Side," "Entropy," "Big Mother"), and includes that cool cover of Peter Gabriel's "Games Without Frontiers.”  While the lyrics trend towards the esoteric "that must have a backstory" end of poetry, the vocals are solidly executed, and perfect for the whole sound.  While Harmon is a capable singer, he's also capable of shouting down the best that Dicky Barrett (Mighty Might Bosstones) can offer.  Guitarist Mike Frederick must be having a ball; the album's range of styles calls upon him to shift from metal riffage to troubadorial plucking to stoner-band/Santana-influenced acid rock. Horns, drums and bass all work  together to create a really terrific sound that is as well executed as anything the Bosstones, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Atomic Fireballs, or Skatallites put out.

 

If you enjoy ska, enjoyed ska or just want to hear some dudes cranking out some really terrific tunes, Mrs. Skannotto's Outliers delivers.