Catch 22 - Dinosaur Sounds

Yes - it's true that ska is pretty much dead these days, sadly. The leaders of the "ska revival" of the mid 90's have all but disappeared or have cut back on the ska influence in their work - No Doubt, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, and Less Than Jake, to name a few. In 1998, a band from New Jersey released an album entitled Keasbey Nights, which would soon be heralded as one of the best punk/ska records of the decade. That band was Catch 22. Catch 22 has managed to release three full-length albums at this point, despite having a different singer on each. Thankfully the band's inner conflicts haven't been able to kill the group... yet. This time around, Ryan Eldred is taking on vocal duties, as well as saxophone. My first taste of Dinosaur Sounds was "Wine Stained Lips". While it wasn't the Catch 22 I'd come to know, for obvious reasons, it was still good enough to make me run out and pick up the album upon release. There are few highlights throughout, "Good Times" and "Regression" taking those claims. Yet, the remainder of the album is just pretty boring, and though this was once a favorite band of ska lovers across the globe, Dinosaur Sounds really doesn't impress. The horns sound great, the energy is there, but the vocals aren't delivered as powerful as they should and could be, and that just doesn't make for a good record. Ska is supposed to be catchy and fun, but Catch 22 has definitely thrown the waning ska fanbase a curveball. Now all Catch 22 fans out there have the dilemma of either keeping the album, as to retain the entirety of the band's work, or hitting up Ebay. As an appreciator of ska, I'm praying this is just a rut the band has fallen into because of lineup changes, and that they'll learn from their mistakes. If you read this website and actually like ska, go check out the Streetlight Manifesto review (former members of Catch 22) for a much, much better record in this same genre. [www.njcatch22.com]