Intensified drop an immense ska album after a 13 year wait!
27 years ago I reviewed Intensified’s debut album ‘Yard Shaker’ for my fanzine at the time. I named it ‘Ska Release of the Issue’ and somewhat inexplicably only gave it a 9 out of 10 – not sure what you had to do to get a 10 back then because the album was absolute perfection and still stands the test of time.
And it’s clear from the outset listening to this latest album, ‘Hang Fire’ that time has not taken anything away from the band. ‘(Walk like an) Astronaut’ is an immense start to this release.
‘Dead Pan Joe’ keeps that vibe going, two tracks in and I’m already hooked!
‘The River’ slows things down with a beautiful chilled out Reggae track that is perfect accompaniment to the resurgence of our summer we seem to be having today.
The Jamaican vibes continue with keyboard driven ‘Enter the Wagon’ and ‘What I Do Wrong?’, which wouldn’t feel out of place on an old Trojan Records release.
‘Lockdown’ picks up the pace somewhat and urges you to get on your feet and dance.
‘Troubled World’ bemoans the state of the world we live in. War, drugs, greed, selfishness, violence…and the completely lack of a solution are all addressed in this smooth ska track.
Another upbeat cracker follows in the form of ‘Sweet Song’, pure danceability is the order of the day here and is continued with the next tracks ‘Stir The Pot’ and the instrumental ‘Idlers Lounge’ – so good it doesn’t need any words!
I’m getting to the point with the final two tracks where I have run out of superlatives to express just how good this album is. ‘Where Were You?’ and the brilliantly upbeat ‘Thief’ round off what is an absolute behemoth of an album.
Traditional sounds, but at the same time, right up to date! Proper Ska done proper!
And yes, 10 out of 10!
I was going to say this will keep me going for the next 27 years but have just noticed that they have already followed this release up with another album of rare and previously unreleased tracks so another review coming soon!
‘Hang Fire’ is available on all the usual streaming sites but better still, get a hard copy ordered – its available on vinyl from the bands Bandcamp page linked below:
Hang Fire | Intensified (bandcamp.com)