The new Streetlight Manifesto is great but their label situation is not

Everyone knows about third wave ska, right? As a genre it’s a bit like a whirlwind teenage summer romance. We look at it with an odd mixture of embarrassment and pride, knowing it was fun at the time, but really, let’s be serious, we’re like totally better and more mature than that.

The sun will come out (maybe) and we will again feel the irresistible magnetic pull towards music with upbeat tempos and a brass section. If only there was a ska band that didn’t veer into gimmicky territory. A band where the brass section is more than an afterthought. A band who don’t sully good songs about selling out with hideous cringe-inducing songs about being dateless losers. Oh, such a band would be a wonderful thing.

And so, let me introduce Streetlight Manifesto and their album The Hands That Thieve. A more talented group of individual musicians you will be hard-pressed to find, let alone find them playing ska of all genres.

This is the album cover.

Now, before I go any further, there is a large, black and white checkered elephant in the room. After several disputes, their label refuses to send the band copies of their own CD, meaning they cannot sell them/send them to fans who have pre-ordered. You can still buy the album off the label (which isn’t going to help the band) or some people suggest that as the band isn’t profiting from the material they have produced, that it is not unethical to download it… The band are understandably very close to being burnt out because of this and all the other day to day issues of being a band on the road, and they will be stepping back from touring soon. Ok, now that the unpleasantness has been dealt with…

Under the dictatorship leadership of guitarist/singer Tomas Kalnoky, the band are responsible for bringing credibility to ska, each excelling on his instrument on each of the songs, which often reach five minutes plus.
To say the album starts as it means to go on is a disservice to the diversity SM can achieve. The Three Of Us is an ideal song for first time listeners of the band.

Instantly drawing you in with a hook, they then diverge into a taster of their musical prowess before sliding back into a beautifully crafted ska song. The song has gentle twists and curves, that are mild surprises compared to the output of other bands in the genre, yet the song writing is of a standard that it all flows together and feels instantly familiar. That is until the riff straight from the System of a Down handbook comes out of nowhere, with a playful reminder that genre is a mere guideline and not a, well, not a manifesto. (Sorry.)

The second song starts out like something from the soundtrack of a borderline racist Disney film before throwing a punk rock grenade into the mix and sending the song legging it in a different direction. As if they are aware of the distraction their musical dexterity can pose, the chorus is stripped down at one point, to remind the listener that there is a heart to the music.



This, I feel, is an important point to remember. Streetlight aren’t just streets ahead (sorry) of most other ska bands in the music department, their lyrics have a substance that goes beyond the themes of teenage awkwardness or ham-fisted politics. Some might feel the lyrics are a bit heavy for ska, but considering the trials the band have been through over the past few years, it is unsurprising that themes of loyalty and betrayal, friends and enemies, right and wrong, and of course thievery, are constantly simmering under the surface. The most relevant metaphor is that of David and Goliath, referenced in the song Toe to Toe.

The juxtaposition of emotions evoked by upbeat ska and upset lyrics is odd, and that might be responsible for a slight leaning away from outright ska as the album progresses and touches on folk, reggae and even salsa. The title track in particular is poignant.  It seems to boil down to a protest song that speaks of standing your ground when it’s time to fight, but it seems to be tinged with a sadness that a protest is needed in the first place.

This feeling of hurt and defiance lingers in the second half of the album, as the band toy with genres with their usual gusto, while using the lyrics to vent their frustrations.

It is sad to see that a genuinely talented group of musicians, who have tried to do everything with dignity, is forced to choose between touring and being happy.   There are some positives however, like the fact that the band are still in love with making music regardless of what happens. The biggest positive is that The Hands That Thieve is a cracking album; filled with more heart and defiant spirit than a ska band should be able to muster. Here’s hoping that at the very least, David can survive the skirmish with Goliath to fight another day.

Images/Music from Streetlight Manifesto. Support the band at the Risc Store.