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Jeff Rosenstock

SKA DREAM

Written by: PP on 22/12/2021 18:09:49

Just like every other musician during the lockdowns of the pandemic, Jeff Rosenstock has been busy at work crafting new material. Well, not exactly new material as "SKA DREAM" is essentially a reimagined version of 2020's brilliant "NO DREAM" with identical lyrics, but all instrumentals and melodies rewritten as if they were originally intended to be ska punk instead. Sounds like a joke, right? I can assure you, it is not.

It speaks volumes of Jeff Rosenstock's uncanny multi-instrumentalist songwriting talent that he can take the ferocious, spastic punk rock chaos of songs like "N O D R E A M" and turn them around into hilariously messy ska-punk pieces like "S K A D R E A M" while preserving enough original melody to make it absolutely clear which song it was sourced from. Not to even mention he had a plethora of other artists contributing on this album with their parts recorded at home, sent to Jeff in unfinished for the final mix. For example PUP as a band does all the vocals on "***SKA" and "Ohio Porkpie", Angelo Moore of Fishbone does saxophone on "p i c k i t u p", Deafheaven's Sean Bonnette sings parts of "S K A D R E A M", Franz Nicolay of The Hold Steady features his piano skills on "p i c k i t u p"... the list goes on and on as the entire album's personnel roster is like a crazy scientist's experiment.

The result is an album that sounds exactly like "NO DREAM" and simultaneously nothing like it. The melodies and chaos are familiar and oh-so-typical of Jeff Rosenstock, but here we're closer to the original insanity of Bomb! The Music Industry than anything else of his work. At the same time, "SKA DREAM" is a little less unpredictable and feels less like a cacophony of instruments inside a tumble drier like its original version did. It doesn't quite catch on with a similar type of frenetic, uncontrollable energy. But despite such critique, the record is a delightful example of creativity and how strong songwriting translates across two very different genres.

Download: S K A D R E A M, ***SKA, No Time To Skank
For the fans of: Big D And The Kids Table, Streetlight Manifesto, Catch 22, RX Bandits, Bomb! The Music Industry, PUP
Listen: Facebook

Release date 20.04.2021
Quote Unquote / Polyvinyl