S'ka Gje
Artist: Sounds of Salvation
Label: Indie
 
Lest there's evidence to the contrary unbeknown to me, the third-wave ska train left U.S. Christendom roughly a decade ago. And the Lord only knows what's become of all those brass instruments, I suppose.

With Reading, England's Sounds Of Salvation however, it's still viable music for testimonial and evangelistic fun. The ten-piece's second longplayer, S'ka Gje (don't ask me what that means; it looks like pidgin Polish) makes good on both manners of joviality in spades.

SoS can take on Handel ("Thine Be The Glory") and compare the godly joy in their hearts to the extraterrestrial breaking through an astronaut's chest cavity in Alien (and admit the awkwardness of that metaphor in "Burst") and lend both the same same balance of reverence and revelry. And because they're a couple of aesthetic generations removed from their music's Jamaican roots, it makes as much sense for them to cut and paste from hardcore punk ("I'm Not A Guinea Pig") as well as calypso ("Dance With Me") and reggae (a hidden bonus Christmas medley). 

Fans of the '90s U.S. Christian ska will find plenty to rekindle that old  flame, even in some ways they may not expect. If you you've waited too long for another ska tale of touring woes since Five iron Frenzy's "Super Powers," you're going to want to hear "You Know." Also following in the line of FIF, SoS numbers a gal saxophonist, Hannah Wilson, among their ranks. But there's a singer of the same gender as well, Bex Johnson, who looks to be wed to her male co-vocalist and band leader, Mike. Both sing in unmistakeably English accents, in keeping with the tradition of the '70s-'80s U.K. ska combos  bands from whom SoS must have gleaned inspiration. 

If the silliness meter runs a little into the red, it's not often enough to deter from this welcome reminder of how infectiously happy this music can be. No matter that the U.K. pop radio has been bereft of ska for years, SoS must be a hit among church kids all over Old Blighty.

Jamie Lee Rake