Search - Toasters :: One More Bullet

One more bullet, one more solid album

Thomas Harding | murfreesboro, TN USA | 08/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I want to start off with saying that I love this album. Its solid, and is exactly what I expected. Unfortunately, all I was expecting was more of the same from the Toasters. More of the same isn't a bad thing, if you look at the band's track record for amazing albums displaying tight musicianship, and a signature sound that is distinctly original, yet still true to the Ska Revival the band was born of. Still, they could have shook it up some.



I would love to give this one 5 stars, but it doesn't seem like its quite there yet. The thing is, the band hasn't really explored much of their sound since their 1996 album DUB 56. Part of this may have to do with the fact that the band has been less active in the studio and more active on the road since the bankruptcy of frontman, Buck Hingley's label, Moon Ska NYC, in 2000. This stagnation in new material is noticeable due to the fact that, that in the 7 years since the folding of Moon, the Toasters have been producing albums at 1/3 the rate they were turning out new records between 1990 and 1997. Essentially, One More Bullet picks up where the band left off with 2001's Enemy of the System album.



I must say that I am impressed, however, at the band's ability to stay true to their roots on this album, which saw the latest line up of the Toasters. Hingley turned out to be the only original member, fronting a rather young line up of musicians, who all had big shoes to fill. This is especially true of bassist Jason Nwagbaraocha, who has taken over ska legend Jack Ruby's duties on second vocals, as well as keeping his own instrument. The album also saw a lot of line up changes during production, which could have easily derailed the whole train.



About the only disappointment on this album was the fact that three of the songs were covers of other bands, plus the now standard reworking of a song from the band's first album. The rework proves to be the best one yet. The song selected was "Run Rudy, Run", which seems fitting as the 20 year old song to go on the album which marked the band's 25th year.



The weakest tracks happen to be the two covers, with all the other songs seeming to be solid Toasters creations. The beautiful thing about this album is the fact that it is accessible for someone who wishes to learn more about the Toasters' sound, but also will engage the attention of long time fans, a feat seldom achieved by bands in their 25th year and running. My personal favorite track is "You're Gonna Pay," which seems to be a call out to the many people who contributed to the collapse of Moon Records. Also, its good to see the logo of one of Buck's labels back on his band's records after 7 years. One More Bullet is a testament to the fact that the Toasters still have a few more rounds in the cylinder to fire off before they go down.





If you liked any of their other albums, then you cant go wrong here. Its also a fair balance of more traditional Ska and american 3rd wave, with a hefty dose of blues and early Rn'B elements"