// An article is posted to a small site dedicated to up and coming independent bands. // Just as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished. After releasing their first album, "Mighty Music", to mild success and confusion, the ska-punk revival band disappeared for four years, presumed to be a random one time event. However, out of the blue, they've returned to grace us with a second banger album with much the same general theming to take a second hack at reviving ska music on the tenth anniversary of when the entire genre was declared dead and buried by acclaimed music review outlet Public Stage. This new album, titled "ok this time use band2", features the same vibrant brass beats as their first album. The track list features another set of strangely familiar sounding titles that make us long for simpler times; Build the Dome: An almost frantic song about a community of drunks and do-nothings coming together to protect their beloved bar from a cataclysmic meteor shower which occurs almost daily. Lead vocalist Amethyst's hectic wailing does an excellent job of capturing their desperate rush to do the impossible day after day, with no end in sight. Ashes and Cinders: This song provides a break from the pep, gifting us with a slower and slightly more cerebral experience. The haunting vocals sing of a downtrodden vagrant using the ashes and sparks of their smoldering life to rebuild everything from scratch, bit by bit. Distress Signal: Distress Signal returns to the fun and pep band1 is known for, telling the story of a lone wayfarer crash landing on a strange, alien planet and sending out a distress signal on public comms, only to be mocked on all open channels for how oddly they speak. The March of the Red & Black: Pairing a steady snare marching beat with their usual ska stylings, band1 continues the story of the bar mentioned in "Build the Dome", during which a band of strange, unnamed soldiers clad in black and red stage a hostile takeover of the bar for unknown reasons. However, the lackadaisical and disruptive nature of the bar's usual denizens quickly breaks down their will to hold the territory and they eventually retreat, never to be seen again. dontmetagame: We've done a lot of digging, but we're still not quite sure what this song is meant to be about. Art is subjective but, to be completely transparent the meaning appears to be all over the place. There are no vocals for the first five minutes, during which the bassline tries to ever so subtly creep its way into the forefront before being drowned out by the deafening beating of drums. The song then abruptly ends with the band joining in unison to say "The password is-" before they are cut off and the song ends. When questioned about why band1 was returning after 4 years of radio silence, all lead vocalist and songwriter Amethyst "Amy" Verticus had to say was that it just "felt like the right time," and that "we all need to stop and take a moment to remember our roots". We don't know what that means, but she looked so happy as she said it that we just didn't question it. Whether or not this return will revive ska as a genre is irrelevant, in my eyes at least. While its golden age may have ended a long time ago, we can all hold its memory warmly in our hearts. It has provided us with countless hours of comfort and sadness and joy and hatred, something I think most of us wouldn't trade for the world. It's a reminder that we're still here, and to look back at how far we've come. Enjoy things while you can and leave your affairs on a good note. Here's to the long road ahead. // At the end of the article are a bunch of ads for shit you don't need. //
