BAD OPERATION’s sophomore album EVERYTHING MUST GO, doesn’t go heavy on experimenting nor any significant change on their sound. However, there’s no need to improve on perfection. When the band from New Orleans coined the term ‘New Tone’ 6 years ago, it was for the purpose of reintroducing politically/socially conscious lyrics into the 80s ska beat that was prominent in the 2nd wave of ska, or 2-Tone. Their first album (S/T) did just that, and as a result, bands like JER, Hans Gruber and the Die Hards, and even Mustard Plug, followed.
Their new album is a continuation of the S/T, with lyrics focused on unemployment, exploitation, and other themes falling under the greed umbrella. The songs here are not only relevant, but they’re impossible to stand still to, which is what made BAD OPERATION stand out in the first place. There’s no need to fix what’s not broken – the vocals from Dominic are clear and soulful, Brandon’s guitar riffs give each song their punk element, and nothing more needs to be said on D-Ray’s mastery of the keys.
Their opening song “Chokehold” is a great opening choice, as it sounds the most like a “S/T” track and reintroduces the band.
“Free Dom” was their first released single and the third song on the album. This song is what got me hooked on the album entirely when I first heard it. It’s lyrics on unemployment and the struggle of minimum wage put a lot of people’s frustrated thoughts on paper; “The money I make won’t turn me green”, “They sold me a dream that ain’t worth chasing”.
The album also has one non-ska song, “Simple Melody”. It really is a simple song with minimal lyrics and a soft sound. It’s a song meant to be sang along to that I think also attempts to bring the audience back to the reality of our surroundings.
My favorite song on this album is “You Don’t Answer My Calls”, which gets rid of punk elements and embraces the lyrics and roots of 1st wave ska. Other standout songs include “Workin’ Real Hard to Let Go”, “Rico”, “OH NO”, which features JER and Emily Williams (AAA, JER), and “Rodeo”.
The album does share a common theme of uncertainty that binds it together, with the words “don’t know” or a variation of the words that can be noticed throughout the album. I’m not entirely sure if that was intentional or just a coincidence, but it was a nice touch.
While I first mentioned that there’s not a whole lot of experimenting, BAD OPERATION does attempt at some points to step away from New Tone, which does show their willingness to experiment more perhaps in the future. Nonetheless, their grounded lyricism and beats that remain the same are what makes EVERYTHING MUST GO an Album of the Year contender. If there’s one ska album that I’d recommend to give an immediate listen to, it’s this one.
EVERYTHING MUST GO releases on April 24.