Sonic Boom Six have now been around what seems like forever. And time is a simple measure by which to chart progress, so playing something like ‘Blood For Oil’ reminds you of a band full of angry political stylings foaming at the mouth on the stage. They’re still political, but now things are little more measured.
Ska isn’t dead, but even for a band which has often been labelled as strictly ska punk, the ska sounds are certainly a little sidelined in this release. Even in ‘Meanwhile, back in the real world…’ – complete with upstrokes and brass aplenty – you don’t feel surrounded by ska. By no means have the ska themes been removed, but they’re not at the fore; a wise move, if ever there was one. Instead, SB6 concentrate on what has always been the stronger end of their spectrum: rap and and a reggae/dub blend. The new ingredient is a dose of huge-sounding pop production and structure. The obvious case in point here is the fantastic ‘September to May’ which profiles Manchester‘s student-centric lifestyle. A “great place to piss a loan away”, apparently. Laila’s vocals seem stronger than ever, and remind me of newer UK acts such as MiMi Soya. And that’s a compliment to both the strength of the vocals and the talent in the pop structuring that’s obviously in place.
Regular readers of Punktastic, especially the forums, will know that I have a bit of a reputation as a hip hop fan, and if I’m honest that’s the only disappointing side to this release. There simply isn’t enough of it. Part of the pleasure of seeing SB6 in a live setting is the three-way rapping interchange with each bouncing off the other. Like the Beastie Boys, but less Jewish. Whether the lack of hip hop stylings reflect an apathy on behalf of the members surrounding the current state of the genre, I’m not sure. It’s certainly an opinion I’ve heard from a few people who think that everything is a little stale. It would have been nice for them to have addressed this head on, but you can’t have anything.
I was sat around thinking of suitable witty and puntastic imagery in order to sum up this album, and oddly settled on the idea of a golf driver. This record is seriously chunky: slick production topped off with the usual dose of the Boom’s genre-bending, but it’s also finely balanced. Despite the poppier sound and the enormous choruses, this isn’t the sound of a band exploiting a taste for a sugarised blend of their artform: it’s a band realising that you can retain a diversity to your sound without simply aiming to tick as many sub-genre boxes as possible. All in all, it’s a damn tidy accomplishment.