Ska-punk bands usually begin their careers mining the two tone tradition, playing lots of
Specials covers and sporting three-button suits and porkpie hats. Then they gradually get punkier and punkier until their former identities as ska bands are lost forever.
MU330 seems to be following the opposite trajectory, and
Ultra Panic, the band's seventh album, is its most explicitly ska-oriented yet. Joined by
Blue Meanies organist Chaz Linde (to add an extra dose of that old-school first-wave ska revival flava),
MU330 delivers a solid, highly satisfying program of horn-heavy melodic modern ska. The last ska wave may be several years dead now, but word does not seem to have reached St. Louis, and that's good news for everybody. Highlights include the ecstatic kiss-off "Tell Another One," the 40-second-long "KKK Hiway," and the only slightly longer "Hi My Name Is John." And don't miss the horn line on "These Rocks Have Energy." A must for everyone who's eagerly awaiting the fourth wave. ~ Rick Anderson