New Town Kings - Mojo

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 13 / 9 / 2011

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Colchester ska/reggae nine piece New Town Kings have in no uncertain terms made one of the best albums I have heard this year. It is jammed full of upbeat, fun and fresh tunes, and they have such a great vibe about them you can’t help but fall in love with them. The band, who have been around since 2006, waste no time at all getting straight in there with ‘Games People Play’ which is a skanktastic slab of UK ska that could sit easily amongst the catalogue of such classic ska/two tone bands as the Specials, the Selecter and Steel Pulse. They don’t seem to let up at any point either. They follow such a flying start with the fabulous ‘Stop’ which reels you right in. ‘Stop’ is one of those brilliant slow starting tunes that kicks in to something so uplifting and magical that it feels like it should be made illegal to stand still while this band plays. ‘News Stand’ is a more politically aware number that gives a good outing to the songwriting capabilities of the band, flexing your mind and social awareness as well as your dancing shoes, rather than just showing you a good time – again much in the same way that the original reggae and two tone acts did back in their day. ‘Hollow Head’ leads you a little further down the dancehall avenue, again mixing the message of free thinking and being a bit more open minded flawlessly with the sound of a damn good time. ‘String A Long’ is one of the slower numbers, but has one of the most catchy choruses on the album. It wires into your brain within a second of the first chorus kicking in, and you’ll be singing it for hours afterward. I could go through every single song on this album and say something positive about it, but I’d rather you just went out and bought this and listened to it instead. New Town Kings are a band that deserve to be heard by everyone. This is a brilliant album from a great band.

Track Listing:-

1 Games That People Play
2 Stop
3 News Stand
4 Dynamite
5 Hollow Head
6 Round & Round
7 String-A-Long
8 New Town Hop
9 Star Of The Show
10 Steal For His Bread
11 Brighter Days

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