You have to give these guys credit: no one can tell them that ska-punk is over.
On their sixth album and 16 years into their musical career, Mustard Plug are still sticking with the verities: sharp horn charts, big and crunchy guitars, vocals that are more enthusiastic than tuneful (though still fairly tuneful) and lots of gleefully skanking backbeats.
"Gleeful" may not be not the first word that comes to mind on listening to these songs, though.
In Black and White opens in an up-tempo but dark mood, with the dour "Who Benefits?" followed by the even darker "Over the Edge." "Hit Me! Hit Me!" brightens things up a bit and offers the album's first real hooks; by "You Can't Go Back" the band seems to have started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and "On and On," which is one of the album's strongest tracks, is also its most unapologetically poppy.
This is where you can really hear Mustard Plug's 16 years of accumulated songcraft pay off.
Then they go out with a two-fisted bang: the snotty and hilarious "Real Rat Bastard" and the horn-heavy, singsongy "What You Say." Most ska-punk bands celebrate their maturity by breaking up; this one shows signs of being in it for the long haul.
Recommended.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Over the EdgeMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 17 MB |
| 2 | Hit Me! Hit Me!Mustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 02:09 | 4 MB | 16 MB |
| 3 | Time to Wake UpMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | Something NewMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 01:47 | 4 MB | 14 MB |
| 5 | Life Is Too ShortMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | CopaseticMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | On and OnMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 02:18 | 5 MB | 17 MB |
| 8 | Tell MeMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 01:56 | 4 MB | 15 MB |
| 9 | Puddle of BloodMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 10 | Real Rat BastardMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 11 | What You SayMustard Plug | Mustard Plug | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 12 | Who Benefits | Mustard Plug | Play | 02:47 | 6 MB | 22 MB |
| 31 mins | 73 MB | |||||
| 31 mins | 245 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Berlin | Audio Engineer, Engineer |
| 2 | Colin Clive | Guitar, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 3 | Jim Hofer | Baritone, Baritone (Vocal), Member of Attributed Artist, Trombone |
| 4 | Brandon Jenison | Member of Attributed Artist, Trumpet, Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Rick Johnson | Guitar (Bass), Member of Attributed Artist |
| 6 | Rick Johnson | Bass, Keyboards |
| 7 | David Kirchgessner | Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| 8 | Jason Livermore | Audio Engineer, Audio Production, Engineer, Mastering, Producer |
| 9 | Mustard Plug | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 10 | Nathan Cohn | Drums, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 11 | Johnny Schou | Audio Engineer, Engineer |
| 12 | Bill Stevenson | Audio Engineer, Audio Production, Engineer, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |