Tight

Tight, the debut album for Clearwater, FL ska-punks Crizzy & the Punx shows off their unique style -- punk without the venomous anger, ska without horns. Jangly guitar licks and drum lines (and occasionally spacey-sounding keyboards) provide the upbeat rhythm where a larger horn section would normally fill in. The result is a album that is great to listen to, with some truly funny moments, like "Missed Me" which starts out like a sensitive anti-violence ditty and then, when the main character in the song is grazed by a bullet, ends with him repeatedly chanting, "Ha ha you missed me!" backed up by the rest of the band, putting a Sublime-style twist on social commentary. "She" tries the same kind of stylistic switching, veering from gentle ballad to metal anthem, but here the transition between styles works less well. "Tight'" is indeed tight; a speedy, punky number that most likely gets the crowd moving at Crizzy's shows. The whole album, actually, sounds like it was cooked in the oven of dozens of live shows, and overall, the music came out hot and crispy.