If you were bummed when Mouth Sewn Shut called it quits a few years back and closed up the crusty-hardcore-ska-punk-reggae shop, lament no longer because Opposition Rising is here to fill the void. How? Well, with three of the four members playing almost exactly the same strange combination of aberrant styles and singing about pretty much the exact same things as before.

That may sound like a knock, but it's really nothing of the sort. There are so few bands that have ever sounded like Mouth Sewn Shut, that for its members to continue on with the style after its demise is an opportunity to keep a good tradition alive.

One of the most telling characteristics of Opposition Rising as a continuation of Mouth Sewn Shut is the wry, absurdist political humor that began when its members were in iconic Boston hardcore crust act Toxic Narcotic. Songs like "The Rich are Killing the Poor" and "Everybody's Lying to You" represent the kind of mordant pessimism that would be just as suited for protest signs as the punk and dirty reggae songs they respectively title.

Musically, "Brick by Brick" is probably the most interesting song, punching aggressively between tempos and a hyperactive ska-punk verse. "Debt Sentence" is a head-bobbing reggae rallying cry with a cooler-than-expected guitar solo, while "Tell 'Em Nothing" is a raucous hardcore punk rager with a bouncy rocksteady breakdown. The record closes with "Destination Apocalypse," the album's longest and most accessible song, though both claims are certainly relative.

Even for those who never had a chance to get into Mouth Sewn Shut, Opposition Rising is worth checking out. And since they've given away Aftermathematics for free (both as a download AND as a physical copy(!)), there's little excuse not to do so.