When I was first emailed about reviewing a ska band from Italy I was filled with excitement. One of my favourite things about doing this whole reviewing/blog thing is discovering new and exciting bands and it had been a while since I had been sent any new ska. For those who don't know ska punk was my first love in the world of punk rock music and I still love checking out new bands in the genre. The band in question are a band named Talco who have recently released an album named Silent Town. Full of the excitement of a little boy at Christmas who knows they are getting a Lego Millennium Falcon I pressed play to have a listen and quickly came across a small problem. The album is in Italian… I don't speak Italian. I have to be honest and admit I thought "I can't review this" but I kept listening anyway and really enjoyed the album so decided to give it a try anyway.
Obviously I can't talk about the meanings of any of the songs so there isn't much point me giving a song by song description of Silent Town. I can however talk about how I feel when listening to the album. From the very beginning I'm filled with energy and instantly want to dance. The horn blasts of the opening track Il Tempo start Silent Town with a bang and give you an impression on the type of musical ride you have just boarded. This just feels like a good time. It's the type of music you can't help but smile and dance along with even if you can't understand it all. Like all of the best bands, vocals come from all directions giving a fantastic sense of a party atmosphere. I can't speak highly enough about the horns on all twelve songs on the album. When I think about the best brass sections in ska punk the band I always think of is Streetlight Manifesto and the brass on Silent Town really reminds me of SM. It really drives the songs on and allows them to take a life all of their own. Before you try and pigeon hole Talco as just a ska punk band though they will surprise you. Adding a bit of folk and gypsy punk to their sound gives them a different style to many of their contemporaries. It adds a whole load of freshness to the sound which is good. I've known people to naively state that all ska sounds the same - Talco certainly prove that this isn't the case. On every listen you hear something different. Whilst writing this review I've probably listened through the album three or four times and every time something different and fantastic has caught my attention.
Despite not understanding a single word of it Silent Town is still one of the best ska albums I've heard in a while. This music should make me smile. It should make me dance. It does these things by the bucket load. It's a fantastic release. Go and take a chance and check it out.
Like Talco here: https://www.facebook.com/talcopatchanka/
Get more information on Talco here: http://www.talcoska.com/en/
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