Review Summary: Face pace Ska-punk with a **** you attitude.
Stuck Lucky –
Hate the Light of Day
As most know Tennessee has a rich history in music. Country music first comes to mind followed up with the famous musicians like, Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton. So what about ska and punk in Tennessee? Pretty far from Orange County if I know my geography. Can two genres that have been said to be dead live in the heart of where Country music was born? Well Stuck Lucky has proven it doesn’t matter where you are to make the music you like.
Stuck Lucky is a fast paced ska punk band with a **** you attitude. They have a sound I can’t compare to any one band. Closest I can come is Voodoo Glow Skulls mixed with the thrash of Big D & the Kid’s Table. Their freshman album
Hate the Light of Day is filled of songs driven by guitar and bass, but the horns compliment everything. From smaller ska bands you expect little cute horn parts but this band’s brass section is top quality. They utilize both the trumpet and trombone very well. Some songs they play the verses, bridges, choruses and everything in between. The actual parts they play make the sound go from what may have been banal punk into a well developed song. I can’t praise the horns enough. They make me wish more ska bands would feature horns during the verses.
The album starts off with a mysterious 30 second intro that sounds like it is playing on a haunted record player (this effect is used a few times throughout the album). A common theme of the album and possibly the band is an undead kind of presence. I know this may seem like I’m reviewing a book now but just go with it. A great follow up to the intro is one of their fastest songs Fall of Rome. Quick ska guitar and bouncy bass don’t stop for one second. Somehow the horns keep up the pace and bring the song together. Throughout the album Stuck Lucky shows they can go from insane fast to skankable break downs that build up to another fast chorus. This change of pace is demonstrated beautifully in a favorite track of mine; In Purgatory. Another great track, El Vampiro, is what I would consider their most promoted song and gives bands like Big D, Catch 22, and dare I say Streetlight, a run for their money. It is very well written with multiple horn parts and powerful punk feel. In the middle of the album there is short intermission song of what sounds like a music box with that haunted feeling again. Stuck Lucky has a unique style, but that doesn’t mean every song is fast. Song of the Underling is a song that finishes off where the intro left off. It is a slower song that leaves that creepy undead feeling.
The choruses and lyrics are satisfactory. Not all of them are catchy like some ska bands produce, but they are up to standards of other bands in the genre. The horns are the catchiest parts. They switch between two vocalists. The main vocalist has very unique voice but it fits the thrash component. His voice may turn off some; depends on your taste and what other kind of bands you like. Some of best vocals and choruses can be seen on In Case You Come Home Now, Someone Just Like You, Muy Loco, Song of the Underling.
This album really grew on me. At first listen, I probably would have given it a 3 but it has turned to one of my favorite ska albums of 2006. Just about every song shows great talent and makes me want to dance wild. The only song I don’t care for is the bonus live track, which doesn’t give justice to their actual live performance. If you want an album that is unique for the genre, give Stuck Lucky a try, they may surprise you.
4/5
