At the height of the third wave ska revival of the mid-'90s, a vibrant and musically incestuous ska scene began to develop in New York City, and whereas the young suburban ska bands that were cropping up everywhere else in the country tended to blend Two-Tone ska with high-speed hardcore punk, the New York bands were almost all looking back to the music's 1960s roots. One of the many groups who rose and fell quickly were
the Insteps, whose sole album burst against the sky like fireworks and faded just as fast.
Eleven Steps to Power features a pretty amazing array of helpers and guest musicians -- legendary DJ
King Stitt contributes vocals on two tracks, while keyboardist
Glen Adams plays on six. The band's drummer and trombonist are Eddie Ocampo and Dave Nelson, respectively, both charter members of
the Stubborn All-Stars. But what makes the album great are the quality of the songs, all of which are original, and the plainspoken vocals of singer
Peter Loshak. Highlights include the incongruously joyful "The Sufferer" and a wonderful nod to
Big Youth in the form of a generational anthem called "Every Slacker Is a Star," but the album's high note is a deceptively simple-sounding genre piece called "Saladin." The occasional glimmer of low-rent lyrical eschatology just adds one more fascinating dimension to this remarkable album. Highly recommended.