 
Mad Caddies have just released their sixth studio
album ‘Dirty Rice’ which happens to
be their first studio album in over seven years,
work originally started on the album in 2009 but
the band weren’t happy with how things were
going so completely scrapped the album and started
reworking on it which slightly explains the massive
time gap from their last album ‘Keep It
Going’ which was released in 2007, anyway
after listening to the album a few times over
it is safe to say that the Mad Caddies still have
it and have created a extremely catchy 12 track
album which features a big mix of reggae, pop,
punk and ska elements.
The album opens with the brilliant ‘Brand
New Scar’ a song which kicks off with a
great piano piece and after about 45 seconds of
the piano building up and Chuck Robertson softly
singing the whole band come in and they make an
almighty mark as the whole guitar, bass, drums,
trumpet, keyboard mix really gives the song a
big infectious feel and at this point Chuck Robertson
really gets into things as he sings loud clear
and passionately throughout the duration of the
song.
‘Love Myself’ see’s the Mad
Caddies launch straight into a punk rock song,
the song is very punchy sounding and when the
chorus kicks in you just know that the Mad Caddies
have made yet another dance floor anthem here
where at future shows their fans will be going
absolutely nuts swinging their arms and moving
their legs to the fast paced beat.
‘Down And Out’ is a very dark retro
sounding track which is very slow moving yet the
brass section really grabs your attention. ‘Ska
City’ is exactly what the name suggests
in the way that it is a big and fun ska track
which heavily relies on the amazing brass sounds
which the Mad Caddies have mastered over the years.
‘Airplane’ is a great pop-tastic song
it is seriously upbeat and when that chorus comes
in the Mad Caddies end up taking you on one hell
of an infectious ride. ‘Bring It Down’
has a big punk feel running throughout and the
trumpet and trombone sections through the song
stand out so well;, whilst ‘Shoot Out The
Lights’ see the band go down the reggae
route.
The whole 41minute ride of ‘Dirty Rice’
is extremely enjoyable as the Mad Caddies have
taken their time and come back with a truly diverse
sounding album which perfectly captures everything
that’s good about the ska/punk/reggae scenes
and the likes of ‘Shot In The Dark’
and the album closer ‘Drinking The Night
Away’ are easily the best tracks on the
album, the earlier of the two ‘Shot In The
Dark’ is bras heavy and tells a great story
in such a groovy way, whilst the later of the
two ‘Drinking The Night Away’ is a
big sing-a-long acoustic number which I can imagine
being the soundtrack of many people’s summer
whilst singing over the BBQ on the beach.
It has been a massive wait for the Mad Caddies
to release ‘Dirty Rice’ and now the
album is hear I can see it being stuck in my CD
player for the next couple of months as the album
is so upbeat and accessible and easily the perfect
soundtrack for the summer months, well done guys
let’s hope a UK tour follows shortly.
5/5
Review by Trigger
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