Danbert Nobacon Devilishly Destroys on "Woebegoner"

Courtesy of Danbert Nobacon

Northern WA Americana/folk punk rocker Danbert Nobacon (ex-Chumbawamba) liberates Woebegoner with Miranda Zickler and The Bad Things prior to his West-East tour. 

Woebegoner kicks off with dirgy Americana sea shanty "Blow the Man Down." Bassist Austin Quist and accordionist Jimmy Berg set the wavy tone while banjo player Gregory Miles lays down some sweet melodies as Nobacon and Zickler sweeps the listener into a sea of beautiful vocal harmonies. The band continues by livening up the energy on Americana rocker "Johnny Woebegone". Drummer Steve Kamke wails out the beat as Quist swings out an airy rhythm with some excellent piano tickling from Kamke.

"Ramblin' Man/Old Devil Gasoline" shows the record heading a more country punk direction. Nobacon and Miles lay down some fantastic rhythm and melody between the acoustic and electric slide guitars while Kamke throws down some marvelous drumming. Rockin' Americana track "Lilithiana Red" keeps the energy flowing delightfully. Berg enchants on accordion while Quist thumps out a powerful bassline and Miles plucks away on banjo dreamily.

Americana country jam "Evolution 9.01" mellows down Woebegoner yet stands out brilliantly and hilariously. Kamke lightens the mood intriguingly on drums as Miles brings some gorgeous melody on banjo and Beau Herbert drops some lovely mandolin. Nobacon and Zickler deliver humorous yet witty lyrics like "we curse the return of the laughing policeman with every adaptive fiber in our breathing bodies" between back and forth vocal banter and harmonies.

"Long Black Train" is a mesmerizing Americana country punk song. Miles haunts on banjo amidst all sorts of interesting vocals contributing train whistles, raspy blues punk howls and harmonies from Nobacon, Zickler and crew as Berg creeps in with some chilling organ. Woebegoner is a fresh and breathtaking album that shows just how far Danbert Nobacon has come as a songwriter while combining that with the extraordinary chemistry he has with Miranda Zickler and The Bad Things, be it now or ten years ago when they began their studio endeavor.

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Danbert Nobacon returns on June 1st to play Creep Records, located at 1050 North Hancock Street in Philly, alongside Kira Wood Cramer, supporting NYC crack rocksteady legend Stza Crack with Philly thrash punx Roadkiller and NJ anti-folk punkers Crazy & The Brains.

~ Garyn Klasek

Make Time for Eastern Standard Time's "Time for Change"

Courtesy of Eastern Standard Time 

DC rocksteady ska ensemble Eastern Standard Time (EST) returns to the studio with their first full length album in 15 years entitled Time for Change. 

The music of EST has evolved incredibly since 1995. How the band has crafted their self described Caribbean Beat sound that combines ska, jazz, rocksteady, and Latin flavors has been seen firsthand by fans around our nation's capital. Since 2004, the band has released only a handful of songs, such as “The Dragon” and a couple songs released on compilations. In that time, EST has stayed semi-active doing the occasional US tour, European excursion, and backing various artists, including Dr. Ring Ding. At Supernova Ska Fest in 2016, the band backed the legendary Derrick Morgan.  

Time for Change opens up with a call to action on the title track. The lyrics delve into various topics including a return to the dancefloor, social justice (including Black Lives Matter), and a plea for peace. The next track is a ska-jazz instrumental ala The Skatalites called “Totem Pole.” This tune showcases the amazing horn section of EST including sax man Morgan Russell. The opening songs provide a blueprint for the rest of the album. The band jumps from topical to tender love songs: a characteristic that began since the early days of Jamaican music where artists wrote songs that spoke about issues like Jamaican Independence (see “Forward March” by Derrick Morgan) to songs about love (“Sweet and Dandy” by Toots and the Maytals).

Throughout this album, many of the songs recall what Eastern Standard Time does best by infusing soulful lyrics on top of finely crafted Jamaican infused melodies. “Lovely in Mad” is a true ska love song with a catchy organ melody written by trombonist Alex Powers and lead singer/percussionist Unikue Peace. Peace's vocals on this tune are infectious, harrowing back to the classic 1960’s style of Jackie Opel and Justin Hinds. “Hayati” is a song about love lost and heartbreak. The band sets the perfect rocksteady infused groove provided by drummer James McDonald, bassist Reid Attaway, and keyboardist Bill Dempsey. “Left for Dead” is another upbeat love song with a catchy chorus that's hook accented by drums. The song showcases Powers with a killer trombone solo.

The band returns to the topic of social justice with a groovy reggae cover of Sam Cooke’s “Change is Gonna Come.” This fits perfectly with the title track and the direction of the album. On the second side of the LP, the band includes a number of covers including Maxwell’s “Pretty Things”, Alton Ellis’ “People Get Ready”, and The Shirelles “Thing of the Past” (also covered by Phyllis Dillon). These covers demonstrate how EST can float around genres including modern R&B, soul, and classic ska/rocksteady. My favorite track on the album is “Sugar Shack”, which jumps around from singing to toasting. Guitarist Zachary Cutler throws in some modern reggae melodies that align well with the toasting/reggae backing vocals. Even the horns are catchy, making the listener just want to move and groove.  

Overall, Time for Change is essential listening for all who have enjoyed Eastern Standard Time in the past yet is the perfect jumping off point for new fans. The album demonstrates how a band can masterfully swerve between genres, crafting timely tunes to get people dancing, and infusing meaningful messages while paying respect to the past.

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Eastern Standard Time are throwing their album release party, The Capital Ska & Reggae Review, on May 24^th at Songbyrd, located  at 2475 18th Street NW, in Washington, DC.

~ Bobby Bobson