Welcome to the Mega Bad Distater Party, the newest in what appears to be the start of a string of split EPs on Ska Punk International, who recently released the Tokyo Two Step featuring Hans Gruber and the Die Hards and Japanese band The Sensations. In both of these releases, each band contributed two songs, so this seems to be the theme.
Mega Infinity takes off with the first two songs, first, an original track that features Joystick! This single is one of the truest ska songs that Mega Infinity has written, but it still shows off the diversity of sounds, styles, and influences, and constantly entertaining complex guitar riffs. In this track, the vocal duet between the two bands works incredibly well.
The second track is a cover of Let Me Drive My Van into Your Heart from Steven Universe. The only possible complaint about this song is that it’s barely over a minute long and leaves you begging for more.
The B side of the album features New York glam and pop punk band Bad Mary, who have been relentlessly releasing EPs over the last three years. In these two tracks, they keep their signature pop-punk glam sound and punchy beats, with the addition of a horn section, and I am 100% here for it. The pointed vocals and catchy rhythms are emphasized and complemented by horns so well I can’t believe they haven’t always been a part of the band and I pray they stay going forward.
The first Bad Mary track is Disaster(er) Party, a play on their Better(er) Days EP released earlier this year, itself a play on their Better Days debut album from 2014. This song is fun and a little dance-y, and the pacing is definitely playful, and the rhythm finds its way to earworm perfectly to make you want to sing along, yet somehow it is still only my 2nd favorite Bad Mary track on this album.
Want What I Want is a perfect punk rock song with a horn accompaniment that fills every need I could imagine. I’ll tell ya what, I think It’s great. The song is a bop, don’t be a bore (and the guitar solo into the horn lines makes me crazy). Yeah, I love this track. I don’t know what Bad Mary has planned for next, but I hope they continue to explore this trajectory with the horns
Written by Gimp Leg
