The Calamatix drop self titled album and it kicks ass!

The Calamatix are the new kids on the block and have been dropping banging singles recently. Made up of the quartet of Raylin Joy, Adam Porris, Clarence “Pocket” Kidd III, and William “Matty” Taylor, they have been working closely with Tim Armstrong of Rancid on this, their first release.

Calamatix

Released on Tim’s ‘Hellcat’ label, home of The Slackers, The INterrupters and of course Rancid themselves it kicks off in great style with a modern ska/reggae vibe with ‘Love, Lies & Alibis’ which we previously reviewed as a single release here.

Dipping back into a traditional sound, ‘Believe It or Not’ takes that sound and adds a modern tinge, something you hear throughout the album and something the band do really well. You feel like you are listening to old school Jamaican music, but somehow it still sounds modern!

Their latest single ‘Still Rudy’ is a huge standout for me, I absolutely LOVE this track. It’s a true upbeat ska track that really begs you to get up on your feet and dance.

‘Rootstyle’ pairs cool ska/reggae vibes with great vocals and just keeps you wanting to hear more.

Time for a rest next as ‘Book of Love’ slows things down with a gentle reggae sound and ‘Dread’ introduces a roots reggae sounding flavour to add interest and variation to what is already a great album.

And the variety doesn’t stop there – continuing the phase of keeping the album a veritable mish mash of styles, the next track ‘Boom Bap’ moves away from the reggae ska vibe considerably and brings you a souly pop sound, but with some very subtle ska reggae sounds thrown in to keep you on the journey!

Then it’s back up on your feet with ‘Lady’ – uptempo ska, traditionally edged with great brass and awesome vocals – another top track for me!

‘Enjoy This Life’ – a great message paired with a funk-reggae sound and if the aim is to keep you moving, it is hugely successful.

‘Phone Call’ and ‘Before It Stops’ don’t give you a breather either! The former again pairs the traditional with the modern with the latter following up with more summer energy.

Now there’s a saying in my house, that I first used as a joke – “Everything sounds better with Ska”. My better half thought it was tongue in cheek until she then realised as a fan of A-HA that she actually preferred Reel Big Fish’s version of the Norwegian synth-popsters biggest hit, ‘Take On Me’.

The reason I mention this is because the last track is a cover of the Van Morrison track ‘Tupelo Honey’ and it’s a hell of a cover. AT LEAST as good as the original and I’m quite partial to a bit of ‘Van the Man’. I’m sure huge fans of his will disagree, but they’d be wrong of course because “Everything sounds better with Ska!” – case closed! 😄

This is a monster of a debut album, it really is and is currently availably on all the usual streaming sites. There’s a bit of everything in there – Ska, Raggae, Soul, Funk, Punk attitudes and sounds, and even a smattering of pop – and it’s all the better for it!

It’s not clear but I’m sure physical copies will be available in due course!

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