Reminiscing is kinda fun. You guys remember when ska bands had a shot at making music a career. Yeah, there aren’t too many folks who can claim to be in a full time ska band. Even Westbound Train took a break. How long was that group around for? Five years or something like that. Either way, it appears that only the stalwarts of the (American version) of the genre are able to get by any longer. But that probably goes for just about every industry – print journalism certainly. Even with that, though, it’d be easy to expect just a passable disc from an ensemble that really makes its dough on the road. Surprise, surprise. New York City’s the Slackers have bucked expectation and issued something worth more than a single listen. Believe.

Somehow, the Slackers are pushing towards twenty years in the business. And considering the ensemble’s focused on ska – or rather JA music in all its forms – that should be a surprise. Even more shocking, though, is the band issuing The Great Rocksteady Swindle, easily its strongest release since 2003’s Close My Eyes.

That seven year old disc was one of the group’s more concerted efforts at staving off lesser R&B influences while focusing on rock steady sounds.

Ensuing releases allowed the Slackers to attempt a variety of approaches to JA music, even releasing a dub recording, Afternoon in Dub, set for re-issue on Asian Man Records sometime this year.

The Great Rocksteady Swindle does move around a bit in the genre – “Bo Evil” coming off as a ska band fronted by either Screamin’ Jay or some other soul shouter. Of course, the band’s musical acumen grants leeway for such endeavors, but other works here should sate fans of more traditional JA fair.

Opening with “How it Feels” and “Because,” Vic Ruggerio gruffly croons touching on lost love and heart-ache. While those lyrical tropes are familiar to not just the Slackers, but pretty much every band on the face of the earth, hearing the New York denizen call it out in such terms should lead one to believe that these are stories and experiences, not just words in a song.

Perfectly fit for a reggae work up, Bill Wither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine” finds itself included on The Great Rocksteady Swindle as an organ focused instrumental. While the track might not be quite worthy of comparison to the Hippy Boys, it’s close.

With the problem of inconsistency plaguing the Slackers’ albums since 2003, finding this disc closed out with “The Same Everyday” might point to a renaissance for the band. It’s a more up-tempo offering, but again with Ruggerio and company contemplating boring train rides and living in complacency it all comes off echoing the opening lines of Jim Jarmusch’s Permanent Vacation. There’s no difference between here and there. Even that road we trod upon isn’t too interesting. At least after traversing those corners, winding roads and whatever else, there might be another decent Slackers disc when we get there.