Voodoo Glow Skulls: Steady as She Goes : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

In their decade-plus existence, Voodoo Glow Skulls have been many things at once: A bilingual, multiracial band that voices Latino pride while stumping for racial harmony and economic parity; the band that put the "core" in post-Bosstones ska-core; or simply a raucous party band. The SoCal sextet doesn't stray from that course on Steady as She Goes. One minute they're condemning politicians for ignoring poor neighborhoods. The next minute it's lighthearted numbers like "The Basketball Song" or the irresistible "Voodoo Anthem." And a pair of tunes are sung in Spanish. The band isn't staking out any new turf here -- but then, why should they? The issues the Skulls hold dear are no more resolved, no less relevant than they were a decade ago. The horn section still sounds like it's from hell. And singer Frank Casillas can still find a way to make even his most atonal vocals sound like catchy melodies.

MIKE MAGNUSON
(July 2, 2002)