Chewing on Tinfoil

Is it too late for third wave or too soon for fourth wave? Either way, it’s good to know ska-punk survives. I can’t put a finger on what it is that appeals to me about ska and ska-punk but doesn’t appeal to me about real reggae. But that’s how it goes and I guess I’ll have to live with that shortcoming.

I recently got an email and a CD from an Irish ska-punk band called Chewing on Tinfoil. As they say in the song “Hating Every Minute,” “We sing these songs like they’re our own / n’ it’s nothing new, oh yeah we know.”

These guys aren’t reinventing the wheel here; they’re cut from the same cloth as the last wave of ska-sters, i.e. Buck-O-Nine, Reel Big Fish, et al. But you know, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. They make infectious, poppy music, combining ska and rockabilly with a little bit of punk, leaving out the horns and sometimes playing up the twangy guitar. Ska-billy? Call it what you will – this is fun music, meant for listening while drinking a pint during these ruthlessly hot summer days.

Chewing on Tinfoil formed in late 2003, in Dublin. Just last month they released their debut album Get Rich or Try Dyin’ (and I swear I just now noticed that says “try dyin’.” ha) The album, the band says, was recorded in a 150-year-old cottage built on the burial site of an excommunicated, fornicating monk. They are currently touring the album around the UK, so check ‘em out if you’re in the area. And for more info on the band, the album, or the gigs, check out Chewing on Tinfoil’s MySpace.

Hating Every Minute.mp3