287) The Interrupters - Fight the Good Fight

Ska I am afraid I only know the mainstream, The Specials and Madness that’s about it, there’s no reason I have no feelings either way just never listened. I think it maybe because I wanted one of those Harrington jackets that a few kids at my school had. My mother preference was for a coat about two sizes too big for me (so I could grow into it not because it lasted for years obviously) with a hood because it always rained in Scotland. She was right but people were wearing them in school. I was always destined to be in the same room as the cool kids just not one of them.

Anyway, let’s leave the old days of my stylish childhood and move forwards to 2011 when The Interrupters formed around three brothers, the Bivona’s, and female lead singer Aimee Allen. The band are on Hellcat the record label formed by Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. Armstrong has produced and guested with the band and his band Rancid guest on Got Each Other where Aimee starts us off before a shout along chorus and then various members of Rancid take the lead, it’s a good punk sing along.

Aimee leads the band with a perfect voice for ska or punk but the brothers are her match, this isn’t a star vehicle this is a band and they signal their intentions with the opener Title Holder a ska beat throughout and So Wrong built on a riff, think early Green Day, Billy Joe even gifting them the riff and the melody on Broken World.

She’s Kerosene is escaping a toxic relationship with the repeat “burned for the last time.”  Gave You Everything is punchy, tight with a nice chugging riff throughout and one of those choruses that has your foot going, a personal favourite.

Rumors and Gossip races along, I would imagine they are a great live band and the album ends with Room with a View which is a song about someone no longer with us but its not a downbeat song to end the album, in fact this is anything but a downbeat record.

Fancy an enjoyable half hour then don’t let anyone interrupt you and stick on The Interrupters.

7/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Gave You Everything