Somewhere in the Between

Best. Artwork. Ever.

The three best ska albums of the past 10 years have all been written by the same man. Thomas Kalnoky has completed the trilogy with the recent release of Streetlight Manifesto's Somewhere in the Between. I could spend forever analyzing how this record fits into the Catch 22/Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution/Streetlight drama, but I'll stick to the music itself.

The album rocks. Standouts include "We Will Fall Together," "One Foot on the Grave," and "The Receiving End of It All." It has all of the crucial Streetlight elements: great horn lines, huge singalong hooks (some songs have multiple hooks, it's like an advertising campaign gone crazy) and lots of big, dramatic decrescendos. "One Foot on the Gas, One Foot in the Grave" also contains the best intro of any Streetlight song.

The record differs from previous works because of a greater percentage of upbeat tunes, even if they are about going to hell or watching life pass you by. ("Down, Down, Down to Mephisto's Cafe," "Somewhere in the Between.")

With all of that said, this record is probably my least favorite of any of Kalnoky's work. I love it. It's solid. It's awesome. (It's got a few too many happy tracks for me, but I can deal with that.) Keasbey has set the bar so high. It would be next to impossible to beat Keasbey Nights. (Even Kalnoky couldn't beat it when he recorded it again.)

Somewhere in the Between is a must-have for anyone who loves punk or ska or any of its combinations. And the band is coming to the SLC in January. I'll see you there.

We Will Fall Together [MP3]