"Like It Is" - Sounds Of Salvation
Genre: Ska
Year: 2007
Label: Indie
Website: http://www.soundsofsalvation.co.uk

Review Rating: 7.0 / 10
Average User Rating: N/A / 10

Forget ants and scorpions, when the bomb drops the only thing thatl survive will be Ska. Love it or hate it, there is simply no way to eradicate it. However, the question here is are Readings worship-o-nauts any good at it? I got their new album LIKE IT IS through my door a few weeks ago (yes, Im that lazy), and finally decided to review it....
Openers Tell It Like It Is and Tell Out My Soul definately have all the pre-requisites to get your elbows and knees ludicrously twitching down the front at any gig. Plenty of delicious gang vocals made me chant and throw my fist into the air when alone in my bedroom, never mind when all ten of them are skanking about on stage.

The recording is nice and DIY with a grainy lo-fi feel and the guitar in particular has the most punk rock sound Ive heard this side of DEVO. As with most UK ska, the horns could do with tightening up (FIF set the benchmark rather high), but thats life I suppose.

Criticisms? Well, things do get dubiously MOR during the Lords Prayer and Breakdown and the MOR beastie does unfortunately rear its head a few more times before the end. The vocals sometimes seem a bit middle england as well and could do with a little more gravel-guts-spit-in-the-eye type attitude here and there.

Having said that, Day By Day and Shake Me Up are stong closers, and despite the albums low moments it still made me want to jump out of my seat and shake booty in a manner previously thought imposible in my household.

A patchy debut with slighly more hits than misses. Worth a fiver? Too chuffing right!

by DougleMcMysteron - 2007-03-18

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