Albums

Album Review: Sonic Boom Six

[Album: Play On]
[Label: Rebel Alliance]

Before you shit yourself, no this is not a really new record, but rather a remix of ‘Arcade Perfect’ and a rarities collection double-disc collection. Generally speaking, I’ve found remix versions of punk/metal/rock records to be at best mediocre novelties you’ll play your friends once in a while to humour them, before retreating to the far end of your record collection. I’d say they rank even lower than horrendous covers of equally horrendous pop songs, since 95% of the time they are targeted for people who don’t really know much about the new genre/style within which a song is recreated, making for some rather embarrassing and amateur-sounding cash-ins. Remember those Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park records where they remixed the same song 4 or 5 times? As far as punk records go, you only need to look at Less Than Jake’s recent remix record to figure out how this can really stink and fall flat on its face. Thankfully LTJ have opted to keep that turd rare enough that not even the collector nerds want it defiling space that contains their 419 versions of ‘Rock N’ Roll Pizzeria’.

Sonic Boom Six are a whole different beast though because, unlike other bands attempting this sort of move, the deceptively-monickered Mancunian four-piece have their feet firmly rooted in both the punk/ska and dance/drum n’ bass scenes. Their unique take on mashing together these styles of music over the years has become more refined, coalescing the finer elements of both philosophies of music song-writing and production. An experiment like this, then, is quite a logical step forward for the band, since it allows them to show off more of their skills and influences, exposing their audience to new sounds and ideas. The first thing you will notice is that the guitar sounds have been greatly reduced as they have upped the beats and synths. Some songs have been reinterpreted as drum n’ bass songs, while others have a greater dub influence, making this quite an enjoyable experience all the way through, without really stagnating at any point. Some of the mixing together of guitars and dirty beats reminded me of the finer moments of the Sex Positions LP on Deathwish Records, an underrated gem if there ever was one in mashing up discordant guitars and electronics. On some occasions (such as album opener ‘Sound Of A Revolutionization’) I felt that they could have done better (or simply omitted that song), but overall I’d say there was a smile on my face listening to this all the way through, without ever really feeling the urge to hit the skip button.

The second disc, however, is a more straight forward ‘punk’ type of record - the inevitable rarities and out-takes compilation. While it is an essential item for the completist as it maps the progression of styles throughout a band’s career, it unavoidably lacks the cohesion and consistency of the remix record. Sure, there are a few gems here, such as ‘Marching Round In Circles’ and ‘Face Forward’, but there are a few tracks that you’ll simply skip through because they sound like rough demos of other songs that later got reworked into much better (or worse) imitations of what I’d say were primary influences before Sonic Boom Six found their own sound. ‘Devil Made Me Do It’ made me giggle with its dated lyrical reference to “feel-good hit of the summer”. Sure, some of these songs are pretty good, but there’s a reason they are called ‘out-takes’ - they aren’t as good as the other stuff they’ve written and committed to record. While songs from later sessions are interesting, earlier material when the band sounded a lot more like a conventional third wave ska/pop/punk band sounds painfully average with little indication of the greatness that was to come.

Both discs however achieve in their intended goals. The remix record is fairly solid for the casual dance music listener like myself, greatly expanding on the cross-cultural mash-up ethic of Sonic Boom Six and is worth every single penny. The compilation record on the other hand, while possibly embarrassing at times, brilliantly charts the band’s progression through the years. It’s a no-brainer then that if you’re into Sonic Boom Six or want to know just how much a ska/punk band can grow, this is an essential purchase.

For Fans Of: No Doubt, Prodigy, Manchester (the city)

Band Link:
Sonic Boom Six

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