Big Dog Small Fence
Big Dog Small Fence
Reviewed by Brian Vincent McGovern
Amidst the proliferation of ska music these days, it's starting to become necessary to be discerning in your tastes. You want to avoid the genre-jumpers that don't sound good. Thankfully, oh so thankfully, this outfit isn't one of those bands to avoid. In fact, they sound quite good! The first three songs rule, the middle four keep the album going, but the last three seem to drag a bit. There's a lot of variety expressed within the ska umbrella. The vocals of Missy Sortino are really cool. She seems to express lots of personality (is that attitude?), without coming off like she's trying to be cute. Frank Loaiza adds his fine vocals to the mix as well, trading off for several songs. Ska purists (well, maybe diluted slightly by a wave or two) will appreciate all the horns and upbeats. There's some very skankable melody a la reggae here. "Finite" and "Stand Tall," which dips into the Jamaican well with lyrics encouraging us that, "Jah love will see you through it / So let Jah be your strength in the eye of the storm." Supertones and Five Iron fans might miss the punk flavors absent here, but will still dig this a lot. Besides, some of the start/stop hard vocal lines will pump the energy into the listener. Lyrics vary from the humorous "Rikki Fake" to the street-wise "L.A." Two thumbs up.