After a rough few weeks, I was looking for some new ska when a friend pointed me in the direction of LMS, who had just put out their debut LP. One listen and I fell in love and immediately reached out to the band to find out more. This was brilliant, but who was LMS??? I had to ask, and the answer they gave me was perfect.
“We are LMS, a group of Satanic cultists from Lakewood, Colorado. When we’re not grave robbing and catapulting Nazis into volcanoes, we’re writing new music about grave robbing and shooting Nazis into volcanoes. Rumor has it the band is composed of former members from bands like Skank Williams, Single File, The A-OKs, and Anterroir, but these rumors are unsubstantiated, and anyone who has ever inquired has disappeared. The band likes pizza.”
Their debut EP, Getting Better, is 5 glorious songs long, and it’s a ton of fun. The album starts with “Work is Work,” and it’s a pretty straightforward ska/ reggae sound- plenty of upstrokes, and lots of keys and organ, and no brass or horns, and great harmonized vocals. The song is really catchy and fun, and immediately caught my attention despite not being poppy or building and releasing tension in the way that normally draws me in. Lyrically, this is a beautifully written love song, the kind of love song that I like most. The kind of love song that says that you are a valuable person and not just a valuable tool for your job. The type of love song that says love yourself enough to tell your boss to fuck off if they try to call you in on the weekend. The type of love song that tells you not to let your boss take you for granted, you’re worth more than that. I love it when songs tell people to value themselves. Praise Satan for this one.
The second track picks up the pace a little and begins with an insane and chaotic rhythm on the keys with the repeated lyrics of “mass distraction and disorder”. The song has incredible drums also, with a nice funky rhythm, and the pacing of the upstrokes during the verses is really exciting. Halfway through the song, there is a killer keyboard solo, and the dual vocals in this track are so damn good. This song appears to be about some hypothetical country in some dystopian nightmare that elected a clown to rule the people and who has aspirations of total control and authoritarianism, all while the media blamed the poor and downtrodden, while the people who elected this clown turned a deaf ear to the suffering and demand compliance and obedience, and suggests that there is some sort of tie between this jester king and capitalist oligarch/ CEO wealth. The song questions, as the title suggests, “Are You Embarrassed Yet” and ends with the line, “and if you’re not embarrassed yet, well you fucking outta be”. I am just thankful that this is just a song, and not an observation, because if this were the real world, the people should probably unite and overthrow the buffoon.
The song that caught my attention the most on my first listen was “Misunderstood”. It has such an interesting feeling and vibe that is very distinct from the rest of the album. Cool and dance-y in a way that is unfamiliar to me. I’m sure if I were more familiar with more diverse musical genres, I could describe it better, and there is still that ska rhythm on the downbeats, but it almost gives me a Romani vibe, and I love it. It’s a hips-moving vibe, not a skanking dance rhythm, and I praise Satan for its cool, misunderstood chaos. I also like that the first two verses in this track have the two singers alternating verses instead of harmonizing, only to harmonize in the chorus.
The most upbeat song on the album is “The Life of the Party is Dead”. It starts off with what feels like chiptune or 8-bit video game music with the rhythm and evolves into the catchiest lyrical rhythm on the album, and the entire song is just insanity- ah fuck- cut that out. Seriously though, the difference between this song and “Misunderstood” is incredible, and they feel so damn good following each other because of how dissimilar they are, yet they are probably my two favourite tracks, musically.
The final song on the album is “Mech Power Suit”, and it’s another really solid track, but of all the songs on the album, it’s actually the one that does the least for me. It’s clever and, oddly, a little depressing, and lonely feeling. A great song, but I think the previous tracks spoiled me to the point where I’m not ready to end the album on a down note.
Overall, this is a phenomenal album, and I’m so thankful to have had the chance to explore yet another great new ska band- especially one experimenting with their own formula and sound, willing to make music that doesn’t fit into standard conventions.
Written by Gimp Leg
