The Toasters

One More Bullet

(Stomp)

Record Review by Adam McKibbin

Don’t get the title wrong:  America’s longest-running ska band is firing one more bullet, not one last bullet.  It’s hard to listen to One More Bullet and not come away admiring the group, now in their 25th year.  With their lively horns and hypnotic dub, they sound like they’re recording from the inside of a time capsule.  Whatever bitterness they may have felt at being passed over by ska-johnny-come-latelies like Mighty Mighty Bosstones and, um, Reel Big Fish in the mid-‘90s, The Toasters don’t let it distract from their good-time vibe, which runs counter to some of the more bitter pills left by ska holdovers in their latter (and leaner) years.

One More Bullet treads its share of water, like on the title track and its rudimentary melody and hackneyed, Jovi-ish storyline.  Anyone who celebrated the death of ska won’t have any need to check this one out, as The Toasters don’t make any concessions to contemporary trends.  They’ve been around long enough to know that the cycle will get back to them - and if not, then, hey, it’s been a good run.

That’s not to say that The Toasters don’t throw some variety into their mix.  By bouncing between vocalists and between the dub and ska sounds, and peppering some occasional barroom blues, they keep their material from bleeding into itself.  “Where’s The Freedom?” is an especially lively sing-along that blends the various elements of the Toasters sound.  To make a ska record sound appealing in 2007 is no easy feat; leave it to the veterans to show the kids how it’s done.