After years in Alabama playing in mostly jazz bands, Jace and Dee Knight packed their bags, headed north to Boston, grabbed some new friends, and traded in their jazz licks for some ska upstrokes. They added a black cat, and the spooky tones of the Skaleton Crew was born.
While I missed their first two singles that were released right before Halloween last year, upon hearing their third single “Grounded”, I immediately went back and listened to their other songs, and I loved them. Suffice to say, I won’t miss their next release.
“Grounded” is inspired by the video game by Obsidian Entertainment, where you play as someone shrunk to the size of an ant. The song begins with long, haunting notes on a synth, and a vocal delivery that is essentially setting the scene, describing walking outside to grass towering like redwoods, and a reference to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids TV series. The vibe is both comedic and spooky, like a fun Halloween party.
The horns lead the rest of the band into the song, with a relatively slow and smooth rhythm. The guitars and drums come in with a nice slow ska rhythm, perhaps with a bit of a reggae influence. The bass is nice and thick and clear. The lyrics are not the most important aspect of the song, as they essentially just tell a story that fits the established narrative of the song: Avoid spiders and bugs that want to hunt you down. But we get a nice smooth, melodic reggae ska track that is clean and fun. The vocals are excellent, add to the vibe, and don’t distract or demand all of the attention. Yet they are enough to make you want to hum along while you move your hips to the rhythm.
With about two minutes left in the song, something changes. The guitar starts to take center stage with a bit of a solo that’s just a little louder than the rest of the band which continues the melody. It adds a little jazz, perhaps. Then a horn comes in, and it isn’t subtle. This is definitely a solo, but the rest of the band picks up the tempo somewhat significantly. After about 30 seconds, vocals slip smoothly into the fray as the horns easy up on “Run, run, run.” The delivery contradicts the message: The music soft, smooth, and subtle, despite the accelerated rhythm and the message to run.
The message repeats again a little louder as the saxophone comes back to add more jazz and reggae elements. The vocals repeat a third time, now adding urgency, borderline yelling. The drums get louder and more aggressive as the vocals repeat: “Run, run, run.” Just as the song reaches a fever pitch, it dies down: The elements slow and the vocals return to the chorus, singing “Because I’m grounded…”
The song is clever. It’s subtle and smooth. It shows off a version of ska that has always existed outside of ska-punk, skacore, and two-tone. Every element shines throughout the song. While the vocals in this track were masc, the vocals in their debut single were femme, and both vocalists impressed in the short amount of time I’ve been listening to the band. As I said in the intro: I may have missed their first two singles, but I’ve already turned on alerts for the band, and I won’t be missing their next one.
Take a listen to “Grounded” below.
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Written by Gimp Leg
