Justin: Back in the 90's, Moon Ska put out a series of fantastic compilations called Skarmageddon. There were four installments of this, I believe, covering the best up and coming small bands of that genre, including bands like Spring Heeled Jack USA, Less Than Jake, the Rudiments and more. While the heyday of porkpie hats and checkerboard tattoos may be gone, many of those songs still stick with me to this day.
One of which is by a band called Tight. Featured on the second disk of the third installment their song "Failed Trust" is a stripped down song, featuring distortion less guitar, minimal bass and light use of some saxophone. The lyrics really spoke to a 16 year old version of myself, (overly) concerned with my friends' alcohol intake and growing intolerance towards those who were different. It's nearly 10 years later and that song still gets significant airtime in my apartment. I was never able to find anything else released by these guys, maybe someone else out there has?
Tight - "Failed Trust" Brian: If Rites of Spring and SB hypemen Modern Life Is War did the dirty unprotected and had Wes Eisold and Ian Svenonius give the baby his early speech lessons, it might grow up to be a lot like Spanish Bombs. Like your hardcore dark, emotional, and ambitiously structured? Check out the song below, taken from their self-titled EP released last October on Chunksaah.