Baked A La Ska - Gas Mark 3 (The Slow Burner)

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 19 / 6 / 2015

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Review

Manchester-based group Baked A La Ska have a reputation as full-on, good time party band. The group has an extensive membership of nine and includes three main vocalists and a brass section as well as a guitarist, double bassist, keyboardist and drummer. The switching of the three male singers from song to song gives the band a lot of diversity on their third album, 'Gas Mark 3 (The Slow Burner)'. There are cheeky moments such as 'Ya Mama' and a rendition of 'Oompah Loompah', which are set right up against old time ska/reggae moments such as 'Why D'ya Have To Call? and 'Everything But Love'. While they span the ska spectrum, they never stray too far away from it and the result is a well-rounded album. They throw in a few other cover tunes for good measure as well, and in true ska style the choices are far from obvious. The band's cover of Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man' has remnants of Easy All Stars' take on rock tunes. The other stand out cover is a fantastically upbeat version of Blancmange's 'Living on the Ceiling'. Baked a La Ska pay homage perfectly to their home city and it's wonderful reputation for good weather in 'Manchester (King Cotton)'. Quirky, humorous and delightfully self-aware at all points, 'Gas Mark 3' is definitely more of a summer BBQ than a slow burner.

Track Listing:-

1 Chasing Ghosts
2 Living On The Ceiling
3 Ya Mama
4 Time
5 Everything But Love
6 Oompa Loompa
7 Manchester (King Cotton)
8 Iron Man
9 Why D'ya Have To Call?
10 Sputnik
11 Moon And Back

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/Bakedalaskaba
http://www.bakedalaska.biz/

Label Links:-

http://www.limefieldstudio.co.uk/www.l
http://www.last.fm/label/Limefield+Rec
https://twitter.com/Limefieldrecord
https://www.youtube.com/user/Limefield