Let me start by stating that I have never been a big fan of ska. Whereas I have always enjoyed the music of Hepcat, The Slackers, Madness and The Specials; bands like No Doubt, Save Ferris and a gaggle of others hopping on the late-nineties mainstream-ska-craze left a bad taste in my mouth.

I first stumbled upon The Pietasters in 1996. I friend of mine told me about this band from DC opening for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones that was incredible. So we made the hour-long drive to DC, getting drunk as piss along the way. It was at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC that I first saw one of the most amazing live performing groups I have ever seen. Never before had I seen such audience interaction and such showmanship on stage in a personal sense with the crowd. Naturally I purchased the album they were touring in support of, "Oolooloo".

I don't like to give out scores of 10 to just anyone. The album has to really captivate me to get anything above an 8. "Oolooloo" is by far one of the most amazing albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Anyone who has based their opinion of The Pietasters solely on their 2 Hellcat releases is missing out. "Oolooloo" provides a raw city sound unlike any other ska band on the scene.

The album starts with "Something Better", a tale of lost love and hopeful feelings towards the future. From there the boys launch right into "Freakshow", a more upbeat almost-punk sounding song about.....well, you really need to hear the lyrics. The best track of the album actually starts after the end of the 3rd song, "Tell You Why", titled "Maggie Mae". Anyone who has had the opportunity the catch The Pietasters live knows this is, and will always be a crowd-favorite sing-along soundtrack to getting drunk as shit.

Another common theme of The Pietasters music has always been prositution. "Pleasure Bribe" is a tale of just that, with a very realistic sense of what it is all about. "Girl Take it Easy", another live favorite, is an up-tempo tune about women and the mistakes we make with them. "Biblical Sense" is a very cool, swaggerish song about relationships, or the desire to not want them and to only get one thing from women sometimes.

I sincerely offer a score of 10 to this record. One of my top-ten favorite albums....ever.