The Mighty Mighty Bosstones really don't fit into any easy categorizations. Even with the rash of ska-ish bands currently permeating the music scene, they still seem outside of all of it. Part of it may be because they've been around longer than most of their now-popular genremates. They're a lot like the kid who decided to have a party, then didn't really seem to want to join in.
Which is not to say that their new album, Let's Face It, isn't enjoyable - it is. While 1993's Don't Know How to Party proved to be an ironic title (most of the songs were basically party songs in musical style and more often than not lyrical content), and 1995's Question the Answers put more of a serious lyrical attitude to the Bosstones' style, Let's Face It bridges the gap and emerges as the band's best release to date.
Your first indication that something is a bit different is the vocals of Dicky Barrett. On the earlier releases, Barrett's came off like Henry Rollins in plaid - either he was screaming the lyrics, or on the verge of it. On Let's Face It, however, he actually sings - and sings well. Songs like "The Impression That I Get" (featured on a benefit album and in the film Chasing Amy) and "Another Drinking Song" show off Barrett's new vocal stylings especially well.
The album is a quick listen, with twelve songs that clock in at under forty minutes in the best punk/ska tradition (the longest, "Another Drinking Song" comes in at just under a whopping four minutes). The arrangements are tight, the lyrics fluid, and when it's time for a song to end, the band does just that, instead of grandstanding.
Of course, this is perhaps in response to the sheer size of the band - seven members in all, including a dancer - which would make grandstanding seem to be a lost cause. This leaves you never being overwhelmed by the size of the band because the music all flows so naturally. I've heard cover bands try to do Bosstones tunes without the horns and with keyboards filling in the horn parts, and both times it has seemed phony. The musicians which make up the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are a unique unit. And while their style and sound may now be acceptable in musical circles (thanks to bands like No Doubt), it would do us all well to check them out.
