Review Summary: A nice trip to that open meadow, and away from the bar they have talking about all these years.
Take a stroll through a field. Your legs itch with irritation from the unkept, flowing grass, with the constant whistle of disturbing winds that chill the soul when you realize you're on your own in this field, desolate in regards to human presence and touch. You take a deep breath in, quench the anxiety, and close your eyes to picture your own place of warmth and comfort. Alone, cold and annoyed. Yet a quaint thought enters your head and you open your eyes with new-found excitement. You're in a field. The absurd existence of the modern world before is gone, and you are free to roam, reflect and renew your presence on this mad planet. All you want is to keep it going. For it to never end. Just like this album from ska veterans, the Mad Caddies.
Coming back from la la land. You would have to realize that the Mad Caddies are going on 18 years now, and while we wait for another album to creep up from under the pile of touring stripes and hangovers, one could feel that they are still relevant to the music scene globally. With a massive reputation built from the release before this one, "Just One More", we begged the Caddies to give hard pinch again with a outstanding release. "Keep it Going" is freedom from the chaotic variety the previous release gave us, and while it might be absent from the fun familiar shamble of genre interbreeding, the Caddies have definitely called there last round and gone to work.
Chuck Robertson, the magnificent vocal man (carnival introductions applicable) , really outdid himself on this release. Chuck is one of the few men on the planet that can make the cheesiest lyrics sound like a fresh and holistic piece of divine monologue. From heartbreak to the "right state of mind", the topic of the cliche does not alienate anyone purely on the basis that this man has so much warmth and power in his voice. Songs like "Riding for a Fall" and "Without you" would have surely lost their endearing and loving sound if Chuck was not standing behind them. For instance, if Tom DeLonge had to spit lines out like "And the morning won't come without you", we would be slapping the rest of Blink for letting him take the worn out exam pad in the recording studio to jot down his worldly perspective on love. Not bashing Blink in anyway because that would be hypocritical in regards to my fandom of the genre, but you can note that Chuck Robertson is possibly this generation's messiah of vocal melody and rhythm in writing and execution. You can hear the great easy echo from "Bell Tower" days seeping through into these songs, and with plus of removing the annoying punk accentuation.
Though the main point about this album is definitely the brass section throughout the album. From taking the lead in tracks like "The Dirge" and "Tired Bones", their strong presence is never overpowering. This element is noteworthy as you can find sometimes the brass generally fills the space or fits the template. There is the clear divide between the skank and the horn which allows the song structures to be consistent yet not repetitive, fastening your experience to a smooth ride where all the tracks have a nice pace in transition from first to last.
All in all, the Mad Caddies in their journey through the ska/rock/blue grass/"insert genre here" meadows of thoughtful experimentation, touch a certain nerve when you sit back and soothe your tympanic membrane from the chaos with this LP. "Keep it going", is an album that is so soulfully magnetic and absorbent. Its the healthy dose of a 15 track distraction that makes your beer go warm while you fly away into a very comfy space of nostalgia and reflection. A nice trip to that open meadow, and away from the bar they have talking about all these years.
