Album Review: Call Me Malcolm – Me, Myself And Something Else

Ska Punk, a genre that over the years has been prone to, well lets just say less favourable music press banter over the years.  Maybe the first wave of this style hit the heights that it was always gonna be hard to beat, and lets face it at it’s very best it kind of created its own box that was difficult to get out of.  

With Bands like Less Than Jake, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Catch 22 kind of defining the sound, having done this, it made it difficult for other bands to enter the fray, without simply emulating what went before.

Does anyone remember the UK band Boxing Clever?, For my money, they tried to reinvent the sound a little back around the early part of the last decade, but with limited success, although they were pretty much on the right track.  Call Me Malcom have taken this torch and reignited it, reinvented a sound that has plenty of reason to be kept alive, mashing up a heavier punk sound than previously used by most and adding that Ska beat, a style that has been touched upon by the likes of Rancid and of course the legendary Operation Ivy in a small way.

Me’ Myself And Something Else is the follow up to the 2018 album ‘I Was Broken When You Got Here’ and kicks off with a spoken word intro “Good Morning” which leads you to ‘Wake Up The Monster Said’ that punches and kicks its way through some pretty snappy vocals and catchy guitar riffs, a little look over the shoulder at old skool ska/punk, with the obligatory brass section, but then drives on into ‘What You Burn’ still throwing in trumpet blasts, but totally of the Rise Against level of vocal attack, giving you a sense of what is ahead.

From here on in your thrown from track to track with heavy punk guitar, melodic horn sections and totally danceable rhythms.  This does in parts leave you wondering is there more than one dimension to their sound, and then they give you something like ‘Also Spiders’ with its choppy ska beat and precise vocal or ‘Last One Standing Loses’ that smack of a raw pop punk style. 

If we were being in any way critical, you could say, nothing new here, but then  that would not be entirely incorrect, nor would it be true.  Punk, Ska, Rock, all as old as the hills, Call Me Malcolm have taken this and made a sound of their own.  Hopefully inspiring others to think outside the box.

You can get your copy of the Orange Vinyl version at WireTap Records

Check out the bands Facebook for all other info.