Streetlight Manifesto – The Hands That Thieve

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.