Pity New Jersey ska-punksters Catch 22. With the release earlier this month of their third full length studio album (they also have a CD comprised of two EPs and some live performances), it marks their third CD with someone new handling the vocal duties.

Original vocalist/guitarist Tomas Kalnoky left the band shortly after their all time classic debut disc, Keasbey Nights, was released in 1998 (that album went on to become one of Victory Records' ten best selling releases ever, no small feat for a ska band on a label known better for hardcore bands). The band recruited Jeff Davidson for the follow-up, 2000's Alone in a Crowd, but he left the group in mid 2001. It wasn't long before the search was on for a new singer, but at some point, the band just decided to let saxophonist Ryan Eldred and trumpeter Kevin Gunther share lead vocalist duties.

So three years after the somewhat disappointing Alone In A Crowd, we get Dinosaur Sounds, and surprisingly, since Davidson's departure, no one else has left the band (only Eldred, Gunther and drummer Chris Greer remain from the original six-piece band). Perhaps there is now some stability in Catch 22's camp. And perhaps that is why Dinosaur Sounds sounds much more cohesive, and is generally just a better album, than 'Crowd.'

The band has undergone a dramatic shift in sound for this record. Oh sure, one could sit here and say they're still basically a ska-punk band, but many of these songs show off influences of a range of genres. For example, Dreams of Venus not only incorporates reggae into the band's sound, but the opening drum and horn intro sounds like it could have been stripped straight off of a Blues Brothers song.

Good Times continues the reggae exploration, sounding a lot like a song Sublime would've eventually written if their lead singer, Bradley Nowell, hadn't died an early death. The vocal delivery on the verses almost sound like Nowell, which means this song might be a tribute of some sort, or it could just be a coincidence.

On So Cold, the main rhythm and melody on the verses sound a bit like disco believe it or not, although the chorus is one of the best bouncy and sing along moments on the record ("Life is obnoxious, this I know, when did you get so serious, how did you get so cold?"). More bounce is provided on Wine Stained Lips, which is probably the song that is closest to the older Catch 22 sound, and therefore, the song most likely to get the crowds moving at shows in the next couple of months as they get used to the new material.

Other strong songs include the anthemic Chasing the Moon, the punk rock meets late 1950s rock & rhythm Beguile the Time, and the swinging Motown Cinderella.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of duds on here. If I never hear Rocky again, with its overbearing horns and overblown punk rock bombast, it will be all too soon. And Regression starts off promisingly enough, sounding very English Beat like, but it soon moves into standard 800mph punk and bores the hell out of me.

While Dinosaur Sounds is not quite the classic that Keasbey Nights was (and is to this day), it's still a solid album that proves the band is growing and developing as songwriters and musicians. Let's just hope the singer(s) are the same on the next record, I'm getting sick of keeping track of the changes.

More on Catch 22:

Keasbey Nights

Alone in a Crowd

Washed Up and Through the Ringer



Recommended: Yes