Reviews – Skapocalypse Now!
Photo 1991
MOO JUICE
Rating: 4/5
Wowzers Penny! I’ve seen them twice now and both times this skankin’ group from Grand Rapids got the whole room stomping and dancing and the effect carries on to their hoppin’ cassette I bought at the Midwest Skafest. Let’s say there hasn’t been a day gone by that it hasn’t found itself in the player. These mustard-clad lads are what ska is all about and there isn’t a song on this tape that lags at all. From the beach-ball-tossin’-ballad “Summertime” to the bubble gum classic “Simon Says” this album leaves you craving more and that next (or first) time you see them!RPM MUSELETTER
Mustard Plug’s album Skapocalpyse Now! has all the makings of a winner. The trend in the Northeast, has been a type of amphetamine Ska. The high intensity of the new bands continues to attract the old 2Tone fans. More importantly, new Ska lovers are being born daily. What would normally be considered local bands, have an increasing opportunity to branch out.Mustard Plug breaks into the new Ska era with the intensity of The Specials, and the antics of Madness. The 11 song album is quite an accomplishment. All but one song is a Mustard Plug original. Furthermore, the cover of Simon Says, by the 1910 Fruitgum Co., is truly a fresh addition to the play list.
The band lacks a keyboard, but makes up for it with two saxes and a bone. Not a slow song in the lot, I can only imagine what a Mustard Plug show would look like. The sound mocks some of the Ska which came out of NYC in the mid-eighties, but stays away from some of the political rhetoric which can be associated with it. They are a refreshing shift away from some of the more political bands. They have the stuff to go national. I suspect that they will be picked up soon by a major label.
GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
Rating: 3.5/4
Mustard Plug is West Michigan’s best ska band – OK, so it’s the only ska band around. But that doesn’t matter. These guys know how to have fun with upbeat, horn-driven originals determined to keep you on the dance floor. And they do. Released on the local Dashiki Clout Records after recording at Fast Traxx Studios in Jenison, this cassette is only for those in the mood for party-hardy ska. “Brain on Ska” is a keeper, as is “Simon Says,” a cover of 1910 Fruitgum Co.’s 1968 hit. The best song on the album also happens to be my 3-year-old son’s favorite cut, “We Want the Mustard.”Listen and have fun.
