No.43 - ‘Dirty Rice’ by Mad Caddies (2014)
“ The search parties with their razor lights could never capture our wicked love; They look for reason in their cold cathedrals; It’s so far from where we have run … ” The origins of my introduction to the Mad Caddies escapes me, their 1998 album ‘Duck And Cover’ pushed me to buy my first banjo and would arguably be the biggest influence on some of my songwriting over the following years. But it’s their 2014 release, ‘Dirty Rice’ that breaks into my top 100 albums, and what a fun album this is! A fantastic ‘pick me up’ that is far from your average ska album . A few decent uptempo punk rock songs are thrown in amongst a load of really catchy ska tunes. Highlights for me include ‘Shoot Out The Lights’, a lovely little modern reggae track with very tasteful brass arrangements. Compare that with some classic Mad Caddies in ‘Bring It Down’, combining thrashy melodic punk with their banjo-tinged ragtime, complete with bouncing trombone and muted trumpet. T...