Supertropic Wildstyle (Island Fire - Solabeat Alliance)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	Island Fire - Solabeat Alliance
Date:	19/04/08 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some interesting ska punk music is on display here.

Disadvantages: Not as good as the 'Rise On Up' EP, the live energy has not here been caught.

Solabeat Alliance was a UK Ska Punk band that once toured relentlessly across the country. The band split up several years ago, they did however leave in their wake the 'Island Fire' album and the fantastic 'Rise On Up' EP also. With Rise On Up' the band seemed to be going for that live edge which had not been captured with the bands previous two EP efforts beforehand, and with the 'Rise On Up' EP the band came up tops. This album however showed the band in a whole new light in that the production of it is extremely different and to be quite honest with you the album just isn't particularly great at all. I really enjoyed the 'Rise On Up' EP but feel that the songs which were recorded for the album which were also on the EP ('Summer Nights' and' Set It Off') did not come off as well here as they originally did, I feel that the live magic that the band always had just isn't present in the re-recordings or in fact at any stage on this 'Island Fire' album.

There are 13 tracks that make up this album and there are of course some definite stand out moments as far as I'm concerned. 'Heroes', 'Supersonic', and 'People Of The World' all capture the spirit of the Solabeat Alliance extremely well I feel. These three tracks are fun, fresh, and funky tunes that are sure to make you skank with their catchy, dare I say it infectious vocals, blinding bass lines, strong horn sound, cool guitar riffs, and fast, furious drum beats. 'Supersonic' especially appealed to my taste as it is a crazily catchy song and just reminded me of the enthusiasm for performing that was shown when I first saw this band play a live show back in November 2002. After frequent listening, this song still fails to tire, and if I was ever to release my own compilation album then this song would be one of the first to spring to mind. I always had a bit of a soft spot for the music which Solabeat Alliance created and this is a track that always reminds me of how I first came to love the bands music and I respect it for that.

With final track, Another Day,' the band seem to be trying to be the next Less Than Jake, and being a fan of the band it really doesn't do it for me I'm afraid to say. Solabeat Alliance may have been a fine UK band but they were no Less Than Jake and as a result this track really does not do the band justice; the horns seem to take on a different sound, the vocal styling of Tim changes and the whole outlook of the band just seems to differ on this track than to the rest of the 'Island Fire' album as a whole. Solabeat Alliance should have just stuck to what they did best which was recording raw edgy ska punk with a strong emphasis on recreating the sound of the live arena.

Solabeat Alliance was once an excellent UK band, even though this album wasn't too good always the bands live shows were electric and the 'Rise On Up' EP was absolutely sensational. Although this band has long since split up I still often listen to the 'Rise On Up' EP and if you're a fan of ska punk then I suggest that you try and seek out the bands EP, not this album however as it's by no means the best work that Solabeat Alliance ever caught on record. Solabeat Alliance was a brilliant band, 'Island Fire' however is completely over produced and just didn't work out at all well for the boys of Solabeat Alliance I'm afraid to say. Fans of ska punk may enjoy some of the music on this album, I'm sure that everybody out there would prefer the bands 'Rise On Up' release to this however as it's just a far better recording of music and therefore provides for a much more enjoyable listening experience.


Label: Moon Ska
Release Date: 8th March 2004

Originally posted by me on my website Alt-UK.com
Source: http://www.alt-uk.com/modules.php?name=Reviews

Summary: 'Island Fire' contains some decent tracks, it's not as good as it could have been however.