The Slackers, Close My Eyes (Hellcat Records, 2003)
I just love reggae and ska. Takes me back to those great days when I was young, dancing in hot and sweaty bars in the midst of crowds with more different kinds than a patchwork quilt. The Slackers have something like the original ska -- an easy beat that's not too fast or too slow, fabulous horns, a rhythm section like the Rock of Gibraltar, blending together to create something wonderfully fresh. If this is a tradition, the Slackers are writing within it, while adding a dash of their own originality into the mix.
The Slackers are Marcus Geard on bass and backing vocals, David Hilyard on sax, Marc Lyn on vocals, Glen Pine on trombone and backing vocals, Victor Ruggiero on organ, melodica, harmonica, percussion and backing vocals, Thomas John Scanlon on guitars and Alen Teboul on drums. The band hails from Brooklyn, and seems to have quite a following, if my Web snooping is any indication.
Close My Eyes is a great disc -- it's got both an ease and an edge to it. The ease flows out of the music, which calls up a sunny day, while the edge tumbles out of the lyrics, most of which are written by Ruggiero. There's something about this music, balancing both protest and good times, that I've always found irresistible, and The Slackers are taking the music where it needs to go to stay relevant, while drawing on timeless themes.
"Bin Waiting" is a stand-out number with the punch of an old time hymn and the ease of a backyard barbeque. The lads are going to have to keep waiting for a "new mankind," but if anything is going to get us there, it's music like this. I also like "Old Dog," until the part about the loading of the gun. Plenty of guns where I grew up, mostly used for hunting, and I've participated in the sort of farming activities that lead to chicken on the table. But still. I guess that last trip to the vet doesn't make for great lyrics, but shooting an old dog, especially when sung from the dog's point of view, just ruined an otherwise brilliant song for me. Sigh. And yes, I've made that last trip to the vet more than once, too. It's a bit of a romp, but with an err and fatal flaw. "Don't Want to Go" combines ease with melancholy. The title track is another standout: "Close my Eyes and I am gone, staring at the sun." These lyrics sneak up on you in song after song -- this is not protest music from a bygone era, but rather expresses the discontent of the soul felt by so many at the turn of the century.
The Slackers have produced a seamless album with Close My Eyes. The instrumentals are tight and well produced, and both Lyn's vocals and the backing vocals go down with the ease of rum punch. Before you know it, you've been playing the disc over and over, and it seems like a good idea to have maybe one more listen before actually writing the review. But here it is at last, an unambiguous endorsement.
The band Web site seems to be having some issues, but here it is. Their label, Hellcat Records, has a Web site here.
