Too Many Crooks HUNG, DRAWN and QUARTERED

Too Many Crooks
HUNG, DRAWN and QUARTERED
TMC Records

Grown Up Indie-Infused Ska Full of Naughty Rhythms.

Although there was no accompanying letter or Press Release I knew, immediately who Too Many Crooks were when I opened the envelope containing Brighton and Hove’s finest Ska Band’s latest album.

Man; this is a ‘blast from the metaphorical past’!

Somewhere in a sealed box is a copy of their Here Today, Gone Tomorrow album which I bought from Do The Dog fanzine in one of their 5 albums for a tenner deal, way back when (and I’m sure they featured on a couple of fabulous VA albums too).

Anyways, it’s 2020 now and have these rapscallions stood the test of time?

Of course they have!

Opener, The Great Pretender oozes punchy Specialsesque quality in every groove; especially Marlon Johnson’s vocals which sound like a dangerous mixture of Terry Hall and Phil Daniels’ on a dark tale of lost love.

It obviously shouldn’t come as a surprise that after nigh on twenty years, Too Many Crooks no longer write those bouncy danceable tunes of yore; they and we are all grown up now; so the subject matter is generally a whole lot more mature and certainly more articulate.

While I don’t know the back-story to Sentinel (dedicated to Brian Fish) and written by TMC trumpetist Tony Fish, a cursory listen to the melody and maudlin trumpet solos will tell you that this is a ‘serious song’ and it is as beautiful as it’s serious, when you listen carefully.

This is Grown Up Ska; in the way that both Madness and The Specials are releasing these days; Son Of a Gun, Jekyll & Hyde and even the rambunctious What Am I Here For wouldn’t have made sense to any of us twenty years ago …… but today, I get it.

Probably, because three different singers are involved, there’s a whole lot going on here; as you’d hope and expect from a band with their track record over the years; of course there’s plenty of naughty Ska rhythms here; but there’s a rusty Punky edge to Lion and Blow It All Away and the dancetastic Ifs & Buts & Maybes sounds like something The Toy Dolls should have written; but didn’t have the actual melody.

Because of the diversity on offer, selecting a Favourite Track hasn’t been easy; at first Dragon King, with Alan Perry crooning his soul out on a New Wave belter had my toes tapping and an asterisk next to it on my spreadsheet; then a couple of days later in the car, Dave Cook’s flat vocals on Skatastic Nowhere 2 Run grabbed my attention; but I also keep getting drawn back to Marlon Johnson (and Lynn Stenning) on the slightly spooky House on The Hill; which sounds like it should be on a Scooby Doo soundtrack; so that’s where the hammer falls ……. House On The Hill; and if you are a radio DJ, it’s the most ‘radio friendly’ song here.

Sadly most people who claim to be ‘Ska fans;’ probably only ever got to see Madness on their Bi-Annual Xmas tours, or ropy covers bands belting out the same dozen hit singles for no cover charge; and/or listen to Madness’s Greatest Hits on Spotify; and they are missing so, so much that is still alive and well in Skaville from bands like Too Many Crooks.

Released September 04 2020

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