The Toasters - "CBGB OMFUG Masters Live - June 28, 2002" CD

Despite not being much of a fan of ska, I can appreciate this seminal and influential NY-based group, here celebrating over 20 years of skankin' and drinkin'. This stuff contrasts with the awful wave of pop-ska around these days (not naming names, but you know them, and you probably hate them, too). Anyway, the Toasters hold true to the classic 2-Tone ideal, keeping the Jamaican spirit intact and locking into some tight rock-steady grooves. Respect. (MVD Audio)

Voodoo Glow Skulls - "Southern California Street" CD

Bouncy, punky Latin-inflected ska from, well, you guessed it, the West Coast. Voodoo Glow Skulls have been around for some time, first with stalwart punk labels Dr. Strange and Epitaph, and now with powerhouse Victory, so they have the credibility to back up their near-20-year history. But songs like “While My City Sleeps” are little more than buffoonish punk cuts with horn & skank sections. Lyrically, these guys are pretty vacant, and though musically they are easily top of the game (perhaps more so than their brethren in the Mighty Mighty Bosstones), this stuff comes across as little more than thuggish and sophomoric. (Victory)