Faintest Idea – Road To Sedition

My favourite description of Faintest Idea is ‘A punk band who play ska’, as opposed to a ska punk band, and their latest release shows exactly what that means.

Brass laden, bouncy and addictive as hell, there’s no doubt that they play ska, but if you pay attention to what they’re singing about then it’s equally obvious that punk makes up a very large part of their DNA.

Anti-authoritarian to the point of anarchism, they’ve a lot to say and thanks to their song writing talents they can make those arguments with humour rather than shouty preaching. And what songs they are. Tracks such as Hoods Up, Heads Down and Kill Them Dead have that wonderful ability to have you singing along the first time you hear them. Guest vocalists Riskee (of ‘And The Ridicule’) and Pook of Beat The Red Light, who manages to somehow make light of the end of the world on Not Coming Back, add further depth to their already multi-vocal line up, and bring their own twist to the songs.

For me this was the best album released on the UK ska scene last year, no mean feat when you look at the competition from other bands who were busy over the last twelve months – Death Of Guitar Pop, Bakesys, Popes Of Chillitown and, of course, their ‘frenemies’ in Random Hand – and really should be a part of any forward looking ska collection.

Check out Faintest Idea on their socials:
Facebook
Faintest Idea Website
Faintest Idea Link Tree

• Judge Knott