If you told me my favorite ska record of the year was going to be released by a band from Denmark, I wouldn’t believe it, but here we are. Copenhagen’s The Chains brings us a twelve-song ska and reggae album that fills and breaks your heart in various ways. Singer Pato Siebenhaahr leads us through a spectrum of emotions.
Opening track “My Baby Is A Hooligan” presents the double-edged sword of having a rough-and-tumble girlfriend who gets a little punchy and overly protective when she drinks. “Every Hour On The Hour” is a love song that may explain the appreciation of said hooligan girlfriend from the opening song. The album picks up speed a bit with “The Kid Got That Fire.” “Daddy Got A Gun” talks about being very afraid of your girlfriend’s dad and with good reason, but also that love you have for her should outweigh the fear of him no matter how much damage can be applied to you. “Stone Cold Killer” talks about a love gone cold with a heartless and not always present partner. Guitarist Kevin Leo sings on the tracks “Your Love is on Fire” and “Here She Comes,” a Stax Records-influenced soul song. “The Breeze” takes on this structure and vibe heard on a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album. It’s dark and beautiful and takes this album to an unexpected place. A cover of the Rancid classic “Poison” is a big surprise before closing strong with “So Unkind” and “Murder Tune.” It’s hard to say the back half of this album is risky or deviates because these songs fit well within the genre and overall tone of the album.
The songs and their moving parts do not overstay their welcome. The instruments sound tight and knit the melodies well. “Crying on the Dance Floor” is the most accurate name for this album. There’s an undertone on this album of pride in your love for a person but the disappointment when they fail you. You can say this is the basis for most songs of this nature, but Pato’s voice gives it all the feelings it needs through the tumultuous relationships shown to us.
It turns out I have some homework to do. The Chains boasts three generations of musicians from Copenhagen’s ska scene—something I had no clue existed until researching this record, but I am not surprised it does. Writing for Dying Scene, I feel lucky to have been given the opportunity to review records for smaller bands I wouldn’t have found otherwise. Ska is in more than capable hands with The Chains. This album is a document of that. If there is one thing your record collection is missing, it’s “Crying on the Dance Floor,” out now on Black Cheese Records.