Lets get this out of the way Bad Operation slaps hard. A while back I wrote about a record order from Bad Time Records, I mentioned Bad Operation but I wrote words about Joystick and Best of the Worst. Well, let me get to words about the record that made me place the order with BTR in the first place. Bad Operation's S/T 2020 release's sound is is definitely rooted in 2tone (even on the back of the album the bottom left corner states "New Tone 2020"..which couldn't be any more accurate [I guess I could have shortened these words to, "Bad Operation's 2020 self titled album is New Tone. Go buy it, listen to it, consume it"]) but Bad Operation is way more than a 2tone tribute. Dominic Minix has so much soul to his vocal delivery it weighs on you in the most welcomed way. I knew that this band was from New Orleans, however I would like to think that if I didn't know that...I would have known from listening to this band, I want to say there's a lot of Jazz, particularly in the trombone to me..but maybe that's just me. I believe the first thing that I heard (read) about Bad Operation was that Brian Pretus (the guitar player from Pears) is in Bad Operation (he also engineered the album..at their practice space) which lead me to assume that they'd be somewhere near the Suicide Machines skacore branch of the ska tree. Nuh uh, hombre. There's a few songs that have something close to a ska punk tempo, but for the most part Bad Operation split their time between swinging dance songs that would be perfect for skanking to, and slow swaying songs that allow you to just soak in the full emotive weight of the songs. Oh and the keyboard/organ on the album is fantastic. D-Ray provides so much depth to the songs being the brass (trombone) and keys (noted as keyboards, but it sound like an organ to me) element to the band. The lyrics are seeped in sadness, but there's an undercurrent of hopefulness throughout. I love the juxtaposition of ska guitar and organ rhythyms with trombone and gloomy poetic lyrics. Oh, and the album is 10 songs in 25 minutes. It's long enough that you don't feel shorted, but it's short enough that it leaves you hungry for more. The record jacket is also a matte finish, goes well with the familiar yet unique sound of the band/album.
Back in March a buddy from work surprised me with a bag of Herr's Stubb's spicy Bar-b-q (thanks Tyler). I'd had Herr's chips before (the name is somewhat unique, but I couldn't remember what the chips were if that says anything), but not this flavour (they were purchased from Winners so it should go without saying that I half hoped that they weren't that good because you'll rarely find the same chips twice at Winners [and they're typically chips that aren't found at local stores]). These (2-3mm [average to slightly above average]) ridged chips smelled like mesquite bbq and chili powder. When I got to the tasting, there was a slight sweetness at the start followed by an aggressive and somewhat unexpected heat. Like a fiery pepper heat. There IS some mesquite in the mix, some cane sugar sweetness (looked at ingredients, it's brown sugar) and a forehead sweat inducing heat. Good seasoning coverage throughout the bag. Mid to light mid weight crunch (that's confusing...but it's what my notes from March read). Surprisingly lightweight for ridged chips. (at this point I noted) [I] Need water. The sweetness with aggressive heat is fantastic. These chips will warm you up from the inside. Not quite a feat of strength, just a really good flavourful heat. Shit yeah. A cousin to Hardbite sweet ghost pepper chips..but with a bit more bite. Let's say that I'm quite disappointed that these were chips found in Winner's..because these chips are winners (you're welcome).
Stay hydrated,
Marc
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