I'm writing this whilst I'm supposed to be doing an essay on the Middle East; and before you start getting the Israel rhetoric out, it's dull trust me. Writing this may actually affect my grade, I have approximately 2:43 hours to write the final 300 words and hand it in. But this album is probably worth it.
I doubt many people have heard of this band, I picked it out at random from my local music shop (the Rock Box in Camberley, one of the best indie record shops in the UK). But I've had some luck with that place and have picked out random things such as C-22 Keatsby Nights and NUFAN Making Friends. I based the decision on that I wanted something political with some balls and the title and some of the tracks fitted that description.
And damn, does this album have balls. The opening track "Chilli Con Tofu" somewhat reminds me of 180 Degrees by NOFX in that it starts off with a similar grinding guitar rythmn, although altered and better, and then breaks into ska for the verses. One of the great things about this band are the lyrics, for they don't fit standard patterns. I'm not sure whether they read poetry or because they're Austrian and writing in a 2nd language but their rhythms are just great.
The music here is top notch, the guitarist played things I have never heard before (the very odd ska palm mutes on Suit, Tie, Cash), and generally the absolutely crisp way in which a song can rise from hardcore and suddenly dip into a ska bridge is fantastic.
The stand out tracks on this album would have to be Chilli Con Tofu, Whose war is it?, Suit Tie Cash and Bad Ideas Behind Low Attitudes. Both for their messages and their music; except for Chilli con Tofu which is there purely for music, as it may be the best song about giving up meat I've ever heard (the song is actually a recipe for tofu), I'm still not converted. I suck I know.
The things that bug me about this album would be that sometimes the back-up vocals are a little annoying. As opposed to the vocalist who has quite a soft and powerful voice (I think a bit like Chris in Propagandhi), the back-up is a bit rough and sometimes doesn't really fit in. I should be pissed about the length, 24 minutes including a 1 minute instrumental over a chomsky speech, I'm not because it's that good.
A skacore must. Seriously. I think this is better than CV 'No Gods/No Managers' and Suicide Machines 'Destruction by definition' I honestly do. But I'm seriously pissed that these guys supported Leftover Crack AND I COULDN'T GET ANY FUCKING TICKETS!