We recently featured The Scuba Kids on the pages of this webzine. Well, Skadavers is a solo project by Blake Runyon of The Scuba Kids. This one featured six songs of ska punk rock with good dose of melodic punk roots and emotional punk. There are also some reggae parts and brass instruments that only add to the overall feeling that should be happy, but it somehow isn’t. There is sadness and melancholy featured and inner struggle to cope and survive in daily life, also fight with you inner demons, at least that is how I heard this e.p. But, there are also some state of the world political lyrical themes if you read between the lines in some songs. ‘Make A Killing’ has that psycho eerie melody on verse and raw punk part making it great. Also, my personal favorites on this one are ‘This Is Hell’ and ‘Where Did All The Voices Go?’. Good ska punk rock.
Kill Em Dead is the second single from Faintest Idea’s hotly anticipated new album, The Road To Sedition. It is an energetic ska-punk anthem with a fiery call-and-response chorus that was designed to stomp your feet and shout along to. Kill Em Dead is a passionate call to never stop educating yourself: the lyrics are a jigsaw of books and albums that have contributed to Faintest Idea’s political ideology.
Discussing the meaning behind the latest single, vocalist Dani Rascal says, “Lyrically, the song is about educating yourself politically but not allowing yourself to become too dogmatic and rigid in your beliefs.” The first verse is created from a list of books and the second from a list of albums, but the chorus is all about killing your idols. “Never stop asking questions,” he says, “Especially of those in any kind of authority.”
This seven-piece street-punk band from East Anglia are one of the UK ska-punk scene’s most hard-working, respected artists. Since 2009, Faintest Idea has gigged relentlessly across the UK, Europe and even Japan. 2023 promises to be their greatest year yet – with both a European and American tour in the works, the latter in support of The Slackers.
The Road To Sedition is Faintest Idea’s fourth full-length album, due for release in April on TNSrecords (UK) and Jump Start Records (USA). The album is a call to arms, marching to a beat of blistering horn riffs and shout-along choruses. Faintest Idea’s lyrics are unapologetically political and personal, tackling issues of power, war, PTSD, climate change, economic inequality and the ongoing fight for an equal world … all delivered with a raw intensity that is sure to resonate with fans.
Kill Em Dead features a four-part earworm of a horn-line, underpinned by pounding rhythmic backline with the ear-candy addition Hammond organ and percussion. It’s a rousing ska-fueled anthem that will give listeners a taste of the modern, irrepressible sound of Faintest Idea.
THE ROAD TO SEDITION
Faintest Idea is best known for their incendiary live shows, politically-charged lyrics and infectious horn lines. This six-piece street-punk band from East Anglia return in 2023 with their long-anticipated new album, ‘The Road To Sedition‘, which promises rage-fuelled stomping infused with a good measure of bouncy ska.
The Road to Sedition is a call to arms. It’s an accomplished studio release which sits partway between an autobiography and a political polemic, marching to a beat of blistering horn riffs and shout-along choruses. Faintest Idea’s lyrics are unapologetically political and personal, tackling issues of power, war, PTSD, climate change, economic inequality and the ongoing fight for a more equal world … all delivered with a raw intensity that is sure to resonate with fans.
Whether you’re a seasoned punk or a newcomer to the genre, ‘The Road To Sedition‘ is an album you won’t want to miss. With its powerful message and uncrushable spirit, it is the perfect soundtrack for a new era of resistance and rebellion. Get ready to join Faintest Idea on The Road To Sedition.
The album is being released by TNSrecords (UK) and Jump Start Records (US).
The Scuba Kids are from Los Angeles and they have been in the scene long, but I must admit that this is their first release I have listened. This one contains five songs of melodic punk rock mixed with ska and brass music, so the band which comes somehow to mind while listening to The Scuba Kids is Less Than Jake, although The Scuba Kids retain more of a rawer punk energy through all reggae and ska parts. Do not get me wrong this is still melodic punk rock with great vocal lines and melodies, but singer has some more shouting and screaming parts and there is as I can hear synth in ‘I Think It’s Me’ song that somehow sounds dreamy in that reggae ska parts. Lyrics are personal and as you might have imagined from the record title deal with all the bullshit that befell us in last two years due to well known pandemic circumstances. My personal favorites on this one are: ‘UR Dead’ and ‘Vaxenema’. This release is name your price on Bandcamp, so show some love to the band, I am sure they will appreciate it much.
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