Sonic Boom Six - Sounds To Consume
Since hitting the Manchester music scene over two years ago, Sonic Boom Six have been bringing their brand of frenzied ska-core to pubs and gig venues around the country. But it seems like all the touring and playing is paying off – “Sounds To Consume” has to be one of the hottest ska-core releases of the year, and brims with attitude and passion.
Frontwoman Laila’s mix of belting vocals and sugar-coated rap is combined with the boisterous chants of sax player Ben and bassist Barney Boom, which gives the band their unique edge. Add guitarist Dave Hellfire’s seamless guitar riffage and Madfish’s pounding tub-thumping, and you have a fantastically energetic and original sound that makes you wish you were hearing it through the speakers at a Sonic Boom Six gig, rather than through your CD player at home.
Although the band are often described as ‘Ska-Core Punk’, the label really doesn’t do justice to their unique concoction of Ska-Core, Drum and Bass, Hip-Hop and Ragga and despite sounding as hectic as getting attacked by a swarm of four-foot piranhas, SB6 manage to stay in control and very tight, and pull it off well. The eight-track mini-album contains four tracks from their limited edition “Turbo EP” as well as four brand new tracks.
“The Rape Of Punk To Come”, which was recently filmed for the forthcoming BBC 2 programme “Desi DNA”, casts a sharp sneer in the direction of manufactured pop. Although taking the piss out of pop-stars may be a fairly tired subject, thanks to the knowing and sarcastic tone of the song and its frantic melody, it demands to be played at full volume. “Let The Children Play” follows, and doesn’t allow the fast-paced tempo to drop for a second. “Monkey See Monkey Do” is a very catchy slab of cocky Hip-Hop, based on Toots and the Maytals “Funky Kingston” classic, that deals with racial and political problems in the UK and features insightful lyrics such as “So while we sit around and laugh at the old/How come we’ve always got to follow the new?/People act like they don’t know/I’ve gotta wonder now if they do”. The band also take on an original cover of The Clash’s “Safe European Home”, which seems much more relevant now than on it’s original release. “Blood For Oil” is another angry, politically-charged anthem and is followed by “People Acklike They Don’t Know”, which pokes fun at political propaganda and the lack of awareness about what’s actually going on in the world (“It’s true/They choose/To formulate their views/On what they choose to tell you on the News/What you gonna do when they come for you?”). The insanely catchy, drug-fuelled “The Devil Made Me Do It” is reminiscent of bands like King Prawn and Capdown and the riotous “Silent Majority” brings the album to a satisfying close.
“Sounds To Consume” isn’t just an album title, its advice that should be taken literally, and for the mere price of £4.99 (with 2 bonus enhanced video tracks for “The Rape Of Punk To Come” and “People Acklike They Don’t Know” thrown in for good measure), you’d be a fool not to.