I have an intricate (perhaps even
intimate) relationship with Streetlight
Manifesto. From the first time I heard of them with a vague recommendation
of “something like ska”, I received my invite to the worlds’ greatest and
fastest American third wave ska-punk act. I have been following them since 2008
and thus I have been very anxiously waiting for the new album since its
original set date in November 2012. Long story short: fuck their record label Victory Records.
I feel
a quick rundown of their previous material is essential, Everything goes numb (2003) was an absolute masterpiece, especially
the song Here’s to Life. Keasby Nights (2006) was a remake of the Catch 22 debut album (Tomas Kalnoky’s previous
band). Somewhere in the
Between (2007) was their
second studio album and had a lasting impact on my music taste, especially with
the song What a Wicked Gang
Are We.
Their
previous release, 99 Songs of
Revolution (2010) consisted
only of cover-songs. With a NOFX cover of Linoleum and a remake of They Provide the Paint for the
Picture-Perfect Masterpiece That You Will Paint on the Insides of Your Eyelids from Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution (which is a previous collective of
classically trained musicians including Tomas Kalnoky, playing only on acoustics),
the cover-album qualifies as a remarkable attempt.
The Hands That Thieve is thus their fifth album (third studio album),
presenting ten original songs, spanning over 51 minutes of diverse sounds. The
album is a well-polished product that contains traditional bold anthems and
overall represents a truly superior class of musicianship. They create
high-energy music that makes me smile.
Tomas
Kalnoky’s is a huge feature on the album with his fast-as-ever vocals. They
have very intelligent and powerful lyrics that create stirring music, enabled
by catchy hooks. The rhythm section is simply put amazing. For the brass
section, I only have compliments. Furthermore very impressive beats from the
percussions.
The Three Of Us blasts
the album off with good horn melodies. It is high-speed ska at its best. Ungrateful start with a slow guitar strum and a
slow saxophone, and quickly explode into a fast-paced song and an anthem based final
chorus. With Any Sort of Certainty contains trumpets in unison with
vocals. It is truly a masterpiece of a song. “I will hold my tongue and I’ll breathe
easily, if anyone can say with any certainty that there is something to
believe”.
Tomas
Kalnoy solo act (Toh Kay) is also releasing an acoustic version of the album on the 30th of April.