Everything Goes Numb, the 2002 debut LP from New Brunswick outfit Streetlight Manifesto, is hailed as a ska masterpiece in circles where that phrase isn’t an inherent contradiction. No matter how many waves you think there have been—really, who can keep track—ska’s always had a way of sounding instantly dated. In the decade and a half since the band’s well-received debut, Tomas Kalnoky & Co. haven’t done much to avoid their genre’s uniquely fraught aging process. The list of chin-scratchers includes the 2006 re-recording of their old band Catch 22’s beloved Keasbey Nights, and 2010’s 99 Songs of Revolution Vol. 1 (a collection of covers that might more accurately be titled 11 Songs That Don’t Really Need Ska Interpretations). If I sound dismissive, that’s probably because ska has always been so easy to mock, but it’s precisely that full-throated embrace of their own aesthetic that makes bands like Streetlight Manifesto so fun to begin with.

by Nathan Tucker