The Fabulous New Sounds Of

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Personnel: Al Rumjen (vocals, guitar); Devil Hands (guitar); Dr Nelly (trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn); Matt Dowse (trombone); Zac Martin (bass guitar). Recording information: Bakehouse Recordings. Photographers: Ed Raison; Charlee Ramsey. A genre-bending fixture in the U.K. ska-punk scene during the late 1990s and early 2000s, King Prawn had little problem dishing out fist-pumping blasts of ska-punk, hip-hop, dancehall, soul, and even a bit of heavy metal that were as fit for the club as they were the pit. They called it quits in 2003, but not before issuing four largely well-received aural tomes that drew from a wide array of influences, including Dead Kennedys, Crass, Public Enemy, Rage Against the Machine, and Bob Marley. Re-emerging in 2012 with four-fifths of the original lineup, the band began testing the waters on the festival and club scene, and eventually found their way back into the studio. The resulting Fabulous New Sounds of King Prawn, their long-awaited fifth studio long-player, picks right up where 2003's Got the Thirst left off. "Numeration Dub," with its martial stomp, full brass attack, and nosebleed seats-reaching power chords serves as the perfect re-introduction to the group, with frontman Al Rumjen evoking Desmond Dekker by way of Joe Strummer. What follows hews closer to alt-rock, indie punk, and Brit-pop than it does to its cavalry-calling opening shot -- also, the group's metal and hip-hop proclivities are nowhere to be found -- but King Prawn 2.0 manage to hold the listener's attention via an energetic and smartly sequenced set of songs that allows little room for rumination. From the manic Teardrop Explodes-inspired post-punk of "Done Days" to the stadium-sized hooks of "Level Up" and the chill reggae-pop vibes of closer "Black Beads," these Fabulous New Sounds of King Prawn feel a bit familiar, but are far from unwelcome. ~ James Christopher Monger