2021 seems like an odd time for the often-joked-about Ska Revival, but between Five Iron Frenzy’s fiery Until This All Shakes Apart and Might Mighty Bosstones’ When God Was Great, it might be upon us. Which, while a bit surprising, is welcome news to the aging millennials that grew up with “The Impression That I Get” playing on repeat on our DiscMans while we stood in line at the school cafeteria for a breadtangle of pizza and a side of mozzarella sticks. 

According to the press release, When God Was Great serves as a reflection of the trauma of the global pandemic, sociopolitical and racial divisions, and isolation that we’ve all been living through for the last thirteen months. 

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that the Mighty Mighty Bosstones probably aren’t the most obvious spokesmen for the stresses that we’ve faced in the midst of COVID-19 and the Trump administration. In fact, skapunk in general isn’t often thought of as the realm of seriousness. But somehow, it works. 

It might be that the upstroked guitars, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and tight-as-ever horn section brings a levity that breaks through the gloom of the past year so that the seriousness of the subject matter is more palatable. In fact, I think that’s the only way I could stomach a song with the lyrics, “the last time I saw you, we were on Zoom.” I cringe at the thought of those words being delivered with the syruppy earnestness of someone like Adele.

But it’s important to remember that despite a few flirtations as the de facto soundtrack of suburban youth groups in the 90s, ska (like reggae) has deeply political roots. And despite the middle school nostalgia that these songs might conjure up, these songs are deadly serious. They discuss things like religious deconstruction, economic inequality, and the crushing bleakness of quarantine. It’s heavy stuff, despite the Trojan Horse throwback ska it’s delivered with.

And if anybody thinks Mighty Mighty Bosstones are one note, this album serves as a rebuttal. Of course, it spends most of its time between the conventions of ska, pop punk, and reggae rock, but there are a few surprising detours, such as the intro of “The Truth Hurts,” which features an acoustic guitar lick borrowed from the Goo Goo Dolls, or the sentimental “Certain Things,” which features extensive use of a pedal steel. In some ways, this album reminds me more of the rose-colored sentimentality of Bob Seger than of late 90s ska punk. But perhaps third-wave ska is to us what “Dad Rock” is to our parents? The relative timeline is about the same. 

Is that depressing to think about? Maybe. But the good news is, When God Was Great is all cued up to be the perfect soundtrack for the existential crisis that thought might generate. 

-Nathaniel Fitzgerald

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