Review Summary: SKA'S NOT DEAD
It's plainly obvious that in the year 2023, the third wave of ska has long since receded. Since the release of Streetlight Manifesto's
The Hands that Thieve ten years ago, there haven't been any major releases in the genre that have been received with similar critical acclaim. While some bands of the 90s continued to soldier on with mixed results, such as Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger, others like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones have bowed out entirely. Mustard Plug as a band were never as well-known as those names, but they've had a consistently quality discography. What's so refreshing about
Where Did All My Friends Go? is that they're not trying and failing to reach the highs of their glory days; Mustard Plug is just "doing what they do." The opening song and title track lays it out in the clearest terms possible. They know that most of their peers aren't around anymore, that time marches on and the late 90's peak of ska punk's mainstream popularity is long gone. It almost doesn't matter.
One listen to the singles "Fall Apart" and "Doin' What We Do" immediately made it clear that I was in for a quality experience. Every song on the album feels like a celebration of the past, a warm summer breeze of nostalgia that isn't a pale imitation of an older sound, or an uninspired retread of the 90s like so many new ska punk albums tend to be. Nothing has changed with Mustard Plug but the passage of time, and getting older hasn't made them any worse at pumping out catchy tune after catchy tune. If you have never liked the genre,
Where Did All My Friends Go? isn't going to change any minds. There is no new sonic ground broken here. Nonetheless, it's a welcome addition to their catalog and one of the best ska punk albums of the last decade, as low as that bar may now be. Opining about the specifics of the sonic landscape of this record is wholly unnecessary. It's a simple fun ska punk album, and about as good as anyone could possibly expect from a band that's been doing this for thirty years.
Highlights:
"Where Did All My Friends Go?"
"Fall Apart"
"Doin' What We Do"
"Why Does It Have To Be So Hard?"
