Combining punk with reggae has often turned out a brilliant idea. I love The Clash and The Ruts are great as well. Rancid’s “life won’t wait” lp is a classic in my eyes but all these hick up ska punk crossovers are so lame. Why do people mix everything that sucks about punk with everything that annoys about ska? So I am thankful that the Mad Caddies are borrowing mainly from roots reggae and rocksteady leaving the ska aside. After all there is very little punk rock left in their music which I like even more. Some tunes like “the dirge” or “tired bones” are reminding me a lot of Gogol Bordello with their kinda gypsy like sound. Others like “backyard” make one believe in a Sublime revenant.

This is a good combination of Jamaican, north American and Balkans roots music with a punk attitude. They even got Duckie Simpson of Black Uhuru singing on one song. Black Uhuru! This record is a big surprise to me. I expected to hate it and end up really liking it. It’s a great record in one line with Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros’ “streetcore” or Rancid’s “life won’t wait”. My friends will hate me for liking it…  [jan]

www.madcaddies.com