Ska punk that makes you want to skateboard
Kill Lincoln’s “Good Riddance to Good Advice” isn’t your run-of the mill ska album. While at times the band goes along with the stereotypical ska-pop-punk tropes of horns playing in perfect thirds and fifths, twangy guitar openings, and the occasional breakdown, the album is quite layered and is a pleasant listen. Like I said before, there are some stereotypical pop-punk chord progressions and group vocal things going on, combined with the generally posi-attitude of the songs, but that doesn’t stop Kill Lincoln from putting out songs with a lot of heart and emotions behind them. The opening song, “Ronald… Help Me” sounds like it a cross-section of 90’s ska. They then move in to their title track, “Good Riddance to Good AdviceÛ, and build upon that ska base by adding in a bunch of the afformentioned pop punk tropes. This continues in the third track, “Days I Spent insideÛ. But then, Kill Lincoln completely shakes it up with “Fire StarterÛ, a hardcore punk track with minor-chord horn parts that give the song an eerie feel while you’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on. It’s a completely unexpected departure from the 90’s-early 2000’s ska-punk Kill Lincoln is known for. They then get right back to the horn-filled skate punk in “$8 Beer Night” and “I’m Getting too Old for ThisÛ. Overall, it’s a pretty sold ska record, and manages to not sound like it should have been left back in 2005 with the rest of the genre.
RIYL: Reel Big Fish, Streetlight Manifesto, Less than Jake, Yellowcard
Recommended Tracks: 2, 4, 6