When God Was Great, the eleventh studio album from ska legends The Mighty Mighty BossToneS is their first for Hellcat records. While the sound digs into their punk past and more polished pop; the songs are disjointed, worryingly preoccupied with the current pandemic and mindsets surrounding it.
Produced by Ted Hutt and Tim Armstrong the album fluctuates between tracks where the elder statesmen look back on a fading scene and others where the veterans deal with the current cultural climate. One thing common to all the songs on When God Was Great is the sense of world-weariness that colors everything; awkward small talk over Zoom, conspiracy theories, and police killings have rightfully zapped the energy from the outfit.
The opening trio of tunes recalls all of the band’s (vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, saxophonists Tim “Johnny Vegas” Burton and Leon Silva, Bosstone Ben Carr, drummer Joe Sirois, guitarists Nate Albert and Lawrence Katz, keyboardist John Goetchius, and trombonist Chris Rhodes) strengths. The punk-ska combo of the music for “Decide”, “M O V E” and “I Don’t Believe In Anything” display the classic Bosstones sound instantly, however, Barrett’s lyrics and singing style are much more reserved, exasperatedly dealing with culture at a crossroads regarding Covid, compromised truth and moving on from the past.
That past hangs heavy over the album as the pandemic has given the outfit time to reflect. The plainly direct “You Had To Be There” recalls the good times and locales, while the title track brings in piano and the old neighborhood. The best of the bunch is the great middle-aged punk anthem “Bruised” along with album closer “The Final Parade”, a love letter to the ska-core scene performed by those who are vital to it including Angelo Moore, Brie McWane, Chris DeMakes, Christian Jacobs, Dan Vitale, David McWane, Erin Mackenzie, Felipe Galvan, Freddy Cricien, Fumio Ito, Glen Marhevka, Heather Augustyn, The Interrupters, Jake Burns, Jay Navarro, Jesse Wagner, Jet Baker, Jimmy G, John Feldmann, Jon Pebsworth, Laila Khan, Peter Parker, Pete Wasilewski, Robert Hingley, Roddy Radiation, Roger Lima, Rusty Pistachio, Sirae Richardson, Steve Jackson, Tim Armstrong & Toby Morse.
Overall on When God Was Great the band is stuck in-between moods and has a hard time fully connecting. Examples include the bright “What It Takes” with glorious horns and guitar lines yet a lackluster chorus and climax, while the poppy “Truth Hurts” and polished “I Don’t Want To Be You” would both benefit greatly from some musical aggression and stomping heaviness. The middle of the road Creedence Clearwater Revival cover also feels tired, as if the band did it on a whim.
The combination of serious political issues and upbeat ska-core can be delivered (see Operation Ivy’s brilliant offerings) but on When God Was Great, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones never sync up the party-time sounds and the disenfranchised vocals/lyrics. The band is aging together through uncharted times and dealing with them honestly, still fighting the good fight with bumps along the way.
