Voodoo Glow Skulls – Baile De Los Locos – Review

Voodoo Glow Skulls

Baile De Los Locos (Epitaph)
by Skankin’ Dave

First off, I love ska, but I wouldn’t call the Voodoo Glow Skulls ska on their latest release. Fast, loud, fast, in-your-face, and fast is how to best describe the Skulls. As Epitaph tries to establish a hold in the ska underground, the VGS are succeeding in building up the punk/hardcore with ska overtones ideals also shared (to some degree) by Less Than Jake and Buck-O-Nine. The album’s title means “Dance of the Crazy People,” which could have easily been inspired by hard dancing in the mosh pit. Feeling like you are hitting your head with a hammer while hungover, the speed makes the lyrics indistingusable and for the most part, the music homogenized.

The lineup sounds like Speed Racer on drums, a drill sargeant on vocals, and a horn line that tries to play as fast as humanly possible. The quick tempo changes and banging make up for any subtlety lost in the music. A notable exception is “Los Hombres Nollorn,” where they actually slow down to a recognizable ska beat. “The Kids Will Have To Pay” and “Nowhere Left To Go” do have nice chord structures and can be first-time listener friendly. I felt there are only a few songs when the horn & horn progressions can be appreciated as opposed to thrust upon you. A quirky ska version of “Feliz Navidad” stands as a good bonus track. Overall, VGS has the same fast, powerful, pounding sound that you found on their earlier works.