The Selecter – Too Much Pressure
welcome back to the Skaject folks! today we’re coming back from the long haitus to check out the Selecter’s 1980 debut record, Too Much Pressure. let’s dig in!
Three Minute Hero kicks us off here in style – this is a real fun opener. the dual vocals do a lot, and oooh i love that instrumental bridge. oof Time Hard, a Pioneer cover, hits a little too close to reality, haha. pretty upbeat track for the subject matter. They Make Me Mad is fine. chorus goes p hard but the track overall just kinda slides by me. Missing Words is way catchier than it has any right being. this one’s p solid, if a tad repetitive. Danger’s a fun and frantic track, pretty good. i feel like this one’s got the chance to be a grower. Street Feeling’s another upbeat track with a little grimmer subject, and it gets the toe tapping for sure. My Collie (Not a Dog) is p funny – ngl it flew right by me that this is a My Girl Lollipop cover. the title track, Too Much Pressure, is a certified Bop. excellent track, no lie. Murder, an Owen Gray cover, is a p good track. Out on the Street is aight. Carry Go Bring Home is a Justin Hinds cover, and a nice time. Black and Blue is nice. James Bond is a Ska Bond cover – this made me realize just how often there are James Bond or 007 or even just secret agent tracks by Ska bands, a trend yhay appears to have begun with Roland Alphonso’s Ska Bond cover. i think its fun, and a nice addition to the trend.
faves – Too Much Pressure, James Bond
dislikes –
this record is bright, sunny, and energetic – lotta good rhythm, some excellent performances, and yet… something about it doesnt click fully with me. im left, overall, with some good vibes and not much else at the end of a listen, but i think thats more my tastes than anything else. which is a shame because theres some good content here lyrically, discussing the vibes in the streets at the time, but a lot of the delivery feels a lil simple. does make me hopeful for future Selecters records tho.
Too Much Pressure – 6/10
next week, we’ll be checking out a 1980 Desmond Dekker record, Black and Dekker. see ya then!
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