Heavy Disco
Poison City
Throughout Melbourne’s music history, ska has been a near-constant presence since the late ’70s and carries on today with bands like Area-7 and The Resignators. Although The Bennies lean towards the punk side of ska-punk, the majority of songs on their new EP, Heavy Disco, contain enough skankin’ goodness to keep fans of the genre happy.
This EP has everything usually associated with ska-punk: a simple yet effective horn section, the typical upstroke style of guitar strumming, a two-tone beat, and of course, the obligatory song about weed (Green-Mix City).
As a whole, it’s good fun. They tend to stay in the shallow end lyrically, but it suits the upbeat partying vibe they seem to be going for. It’s songs such as Stay Free and Party Whirlwind that’ll guarantee an excellent live show. Party Whirlwind gets a special mention for having a sweet trumpet solo. What’s Your Fuckin’ Problem? is a great example of the punk and ska fusion, with its raw, angry vocals followed quickly by a nice, uplifting trumpet riff.
It’s the sweet and salty of music: kind of weird, but really fucking good.
4 stars
CASSIE HEDGER
