The Planet Smashers

The Planet Smashers: MightyMighty (2003)
Union Label Group

Reviewer Rating: 4

User Rating:

Contributed by: adamAdam
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on June 3rd 2003Don't get me wrong: I do love this band, but I really didn't think the Smashers had this album in them. "Mighty" is musically the most interesting album of the Planet Smashers' career and features some seriously accomplished pop songwriting. For a band whose staples have been danceable party music, .

Don't get me wrong: I do love this band, but I really didn't think the Smashers had this album in them. "Mighty" is musically the most interesting album of the Planet Smashers' career and features some seriously accomplished pop songwriting. For a band whose staples have been danceable party music, the slow moments and genre experimentation on this disc come as a bit of a surprise. It's a welcome surprise though, as this will easily stand as one of the best ska albums of 2003.

The relaxed, rhythmic title track starts the record off on a far more mature tone than some of their past efforts. The bouncy "Explosive" features Neville Staple of The Specials. His toasting fits perfectly with the song's political observations and works well with the strong backing vocals that pepper the verses. It's truly a great track and a worthy single. "Direction" sounds like nothing the band has done before. The rhythm section bubbles along as the horns entirety drive the chorus. Matt Collyer's vocals soar over the innovative sound. "Keep On Coming" is another lower-key track that channels the band's punchy energy into a satisfying reggae groove. The gentle pop of "Recollect" continues to cover new ground for the group. The same can be said about the mid-tempo, country-tinged "Can't Stop."

Of course, there's a healthy serving of the band's trademark third wave ska. Always featuring the Collyer's skittering upstroke guitar, tongue-in-cheek humour and strong sing-along choruses, songs like "Missionary's Downfall," "Never Going To Drink Again" and "Opportunity" are sure to become staples of their live show. However the fun light-hearted material is countered with enough mature and diverse songs to keep "Mighty" grounded. Horn players Jo Begin and Leon Kingstone really shine throughout the album and more often than not are able to propel the songs to new levels with some skilled hornplay.

"Mighty" is so satisfying because it shows progression and clever writing in a genre that's usually steeped in tradition. The Planet Smashers never tried to tone down their roots influences during the ska-punk craze, so now that they're an older and more experienced group they can reap the fruits of that decision.

Login to rate this album

People who liked this also liked:

Please login or register to post comments.What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?

Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

nedsammy (March 7, 2011)

Another slow burner that took me forever to get into; the wait paid off, this is a smashing album, and Direction really is like nothing else out there.

Anonymous (November 24, 2005)

I ain't doing it http://www.los-angeles-casino.com/lanir/casino-directory-2005.htm l

Anonymous (June 22, 2004)

I know this Band personally and they are really great! great people and great musicans! :)

lostinthecrowd13 (June 17, 2004)

The Planet Smashers put on one great live show and their CD which I bought at the show last night is very good also. If they weren't playing with The Aquabats then they would have been the best band there.

Anonymous (November 25, 2003)

trogdor!

Anonymous (October 1, 2003)

At first this album didn't seem as good as their other releases. It seemed slower, less energetic and had less of an "edge". After a while this album began to grow on me. I can honostly say this is their strongest release to date.

Anonymous (August 17, 2003)

Planet Smashers are awesome, and when my band played with them they were super nice! great band. I`ve been one of their biggest fans since 1995!

-ejaculine

Anonymous (June 9, 2003)

18 dollars? That's steep. Tickets were 10-12 here in Boston, and that's Big D's hometown.

lieutenant (June 8, 2003)

Gah. I didn't even know the Planet Smashers were putting a new album out, but I still picked it up the other day when I found it on display. I knew it was a bad move from the beginning, but now I am really feeling the regret of skipping out on Big D with the Planet Smashers a couple or few weeks ago. Well, not entirely. The tickets were 18 fucking dollars, for a capacity 450 club. It may be better off I relive the dream in my head.

Anonymous (June 8, 2003)

Awesome, just awesome. I love living in guelph where i get see the smashers all the time. so much better than no self control.

adam (June 5, 2003)

I can dream sickboi, I can dream.

Anonymous (June 5, 2003)

Good review adam, but honestly, how hard is it to be "one of the best ska albums of 2003"? Its funny, ska these days is like a total win-lose situation, you are either absolutely adored by a large fanbase or deemed cookie-cutter crap.

-sickboi

eyeball_kid (June 5, 2003)

"BRING CAPDOWN TO THE MASSES IN THE USA"

I don't hate Americans enough for that.

Anonymous (June 5, 2003)

planet smashers blow!

Anonymous (June 5, 2003)

rumor has it, fox could be doing a direct-to-dvd family guy movie due to the strong sales of the volume 1 dvd (consistently in the #1 spot) and high ratings for re-runs on comedy central. here's hoping

p.s. planet smashers are pretty good.

fallingtopieces (June 5, 2003)

Bring capdown to the masses in the usa

Anonymous (June 4, 2003)

Hepcat, regrettably, is done. Alex is focusing on his acting career, and I don't know if the other guys have put anything together, other than the one-offs for Hellcat compilations.

--Cos

Kurt_F (June 4, 2003)

Adam, your love for ska brings a smile to my face, seriously. Keep up the good reviews.

Anonymous (June 3, 2003)

the LP version of "Mighty" will be out mid-June on Dare To Care Records - www.daretocarerecords.com....

great album.

Anonymous (June 3, 2003)

The Planet Smashers are truly one of my favorite bands. I picked this up when they passed through my town, and I love it, along with all their other albums. It took some getting used to at first, but it's great.

evildeadalive (June 3, 2003)

I've absolutely loved every album they've put out, I'm sure this one will be no different.

In a side note, the second I saw this album being reviewed in the sidebar, I knew who the reviewer was. It appears Adam is the new official punknews.org ska/skapunk reviewer. That's a good thing. I'd rather read a review by a fan of the genre than someone who's gonna come out with the always witty 'Ska sucks'. Keep up the good work Adam.

CallingLondon (June 3, 2003)

i don't own any planet smashers albums. i am definitely getting this one, though. very nice review. what a great band.

Anonymous (June 3, 2003)

Wow im picking this up! I've been listening to Planet Smashers since 95, and their first cd got me into ska. Well that and operation ivy i guess. My band even played with them in Buckingham, great guys. My favorite cds are Planet Smashers and Life of the party. Cant wait to hear this one.

-ejaculine

Anonymous (June 3, 2003)

I liked the Planet Smashers first three albums, but wasn't too crazy about No Self Control. It had like five songs I liked and the rest were so-so and kind of boring. Don't know if I'm going to bother with this one as it sounds like they whittled the good songs down to about three and just kept the boring, so-so songs.
One a more serious note: FAMILY GUY SHOULD MAKE A MOVIE!!!!

-Bing Crosby

Anonymous (June 3, 2003)

I definately wouldn't go as far as to say Common Rider is ska...

Anonymous (June 3, 2003)

Great band, along with hepcat(are they still together??? , some say yes,some say no...... )and the slackers,general rudie,the best bands representing the true ska sound.. I will pick this up today-oldpunker-

GregSka (June 3, 2003)

This is going to be a fucking awesome summer cd! Props to the Smashers for putting on great shows and putting out great music

Anonymous (June 3, 2003)

its like im livin in 1998 again!

But i love this band and their crazy antics.

-feedmynightmare

THAT_GUY (June 3, 2003)

Let's all whine about a damn picture !!! Actually,I'm just kidding,I was thinking the same thing.This is a pretty good CD,but the Planet Smashers aren't really my ska-cup-o-tea,I lean more towards bands like AAA,Common Rider,Mustard Plug,Catch 22,Op Ivy,Mad Caddies,Suicide Machines,and the Pietasters.But I still listen to these guys sometimes.

maverick (June 3, 2003)

God bless the Union Label Group for having large, high-quality album cover images on their site, as opposed to tiny little thumbnails. Thanks, guys!

-Insincere Scott [Dave's sick]

Anonymous (June 3, 2003)

buh