It seems inconceivable that ‘On The Dancefloor’ is The Planet Smashers’ tenth album, much in the same way that it seems inconceivable that it comes twenty years after fan favourite ‘Unstoppable’, and three decades after the death of Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell. Time is a funny thing.
They might not have had the commercial success as Real Big Fish or Less Than Jake (at least in the UK, where hard touring has made those bands a big draw since the late 90s), but years of grafting have made The Planet Smashers an integral part of the transatlantic ska world. There have been times when it’s been hard to work out why. Despite being great musicians, they’ve not always shown signs of being particularly great songwriters, with so much of their earlier work being reliant on one line hooks, delivered ad nauseum to the point of absolute annoyance.
Against the odds, this is actually one of the Smashers’ better albums. The slightly gruffer vocals fit rather nicely with the bulk of the record’s old school influenced ska sounds, and although they’re still far too fixated on empty one line choruses at times, nothing here feels any near as vacuous as the worst bits of ‘Mighty’ (2003) or ‘Unstoppable’ (2005).
Things get off to a good start when ‘Wasted Tomorrows’ contrasts an upbeat ska arrangement with some fierce slide guitar, getting things underway with a little more of an edge. Settling into the verse, the guitar subsides to make room for choppy rhythms inviting a maximum skank, augmented by some Rico-esque trombone work. On top of a great, upbeat arrangement, Matt Collyer’s mature sounding vocal helps this to ultimately sound like a more melodic version of late period Mighty Mighty Bosstones, before a quieter middle eight allows for a more reflective tone, which has the knock on effect of making the lead guitars sound a little more aggressive when they return to flesh out a great climax. In under three minutes, this has all the right ingredients for a Planet Smashers classic, and those extra guitars lend everything more of a distinctive tone. Following a superb opener ‘Meet Me On The Dancefloor’ feels a little more predictable, since its slightly softer melody – driven by muted rhythm guitar, and peppered with great organ – offers an obvious Trojan tribute, but presented with a warmer production sound. The music is superb; the lyrics less so: “Meet me on the dancefloor / Yeah, yeah [repeat]” sets the tone for something great, but in old Smashers tradition, fails to deliver beyond that, settling instead for basic repetition. Luckily, a superb trombone solo from Patrick Taylor gives everything a lift, allowing the track’s weaker lyric to just about work.
Unfortunately, ‘Alien’ doesn’t have quite the spark needed to make the band’s empty lyrics go unnoticed. The guitars are amped up again, but instead of delivering a cool retro sound, the band opt for darkness, and it just sounds…rather murky. By the time that subsides, a solid ska groove is set in place, allowing for an easy knees-up. As before, there are strong moments courtesy of a great but never intrusive horn section, and this compliments a great vocal with ease. The track’s killer elements are all found within its instrumental breakdown, though, where the drums drop in a few classic sounding percussive fills and the trombone delivers a sultry solo. It certainly makes up for another slightly disappointing hook. An instant standout, ‘Police Brutality’ sounds like a marriage between the US third wave of ska and the more commercial edge of the British 2-Tone sound (there’s a lot here that sounds like a Selecter deep cut augmented by trombone), which is unsurprising given that it features a guest vocal from ex-Specials legend Neville Staple. He really gives the Smashers a kick up the arse with some toasting that harks back to his Judge Roughneck character from the late 70s, and this in turn allows for a few fatter bass grooves and some busier horns. It’s so busy, the one line chorus actually passes by unnoticed on first listen…
Keeping the energy high, ‘Torpedo’ sounds even more like an old Bosstones number than ‘Wasted Tomorrows’ and a brilliant ascending-descending bass riff gives the arrangement a massive lift, before a very old school sax break makes the track sound like something from the 90s colliding with the Blue Beat sound of the 60s. The chorus may be a little annoying, but in fairness, it comes with a shout-along quality that’s clearly designed to rouse a live audience. There are elements of a great number here, but it’s quickly outshone by album highlight ‘Bags of Cash’ – a huge sounding slab of melodic ska where the band take a tried and tested riff and augment it with wheezing horn fills and energised solos. They even take their familiar sound and (thankfully) drive it a little harder by fleshing out one of their simple hooks with a very effective call and response vocal. Granted, there’s nothing here you won’t have heard from The Planet Smashers before – or even if you’ve owned Bosstones and Dingees albums for years – but it’s a perfect example of the genre bringing out the best in the Smashers’ sound.
Dropping into something a little more old school once again, the buoyant ‘Walk On Back’ pushes the horns to the fore for another tune with echoes of Trojan colliding with a 90s ska sound, allowing Patrick to share more great trombone work. What’s key here, though, are the vocals. Rather than opting for a rousing “gang vocal” sound, a decision has been made to fill the chorus with strong harmonies, and the smoother delivery actually makes the hook appear pleasingly rich. The harmonies come into play even more on the album’s closer ‘Like I Do’, which has a very Jamaican sound peppered with an influence from the slower numbers from the Specials’ debut. It’s at the easy listening end of the ska scale, but on this mid tempo workout, some tight horn work and smooth vocals do some really heavy lifting on a track that’s almost impossible to date.
Elsewhere on this short journey (clocking in at a vinyl friendly thirty six minutes) you’ll find ‘Lies’, a speedy workout with great horns that makes some predictable ska chops sound like a force of nature despite a notable lack of chorus, and the much stronger ‘Things You Do’ which makes great use of a sharp edged rhythm, swirling organ sounds and horn fills against a vocal that almost drops into the spoken word. It’s inviting, almost atmospheric, with a superb verse and some hints of dub creeping into the instrumental break, and an easy reminder of great musicians at work, but as is typical, the chorus feels half finished. That’s not enough to stop it being one of ‘Dancefloor’s stronger cuts, but the more demanding ska fan (especially if approaching The Planet Smashers for the first time) might feel they’re being sold a little short. This is very good for what it is, but it could have been perfect.
If you’re already a Planet Smashers fan, no amount of opinions regarding this album will influence you. You’re likely to love ‘On The Dancefloor’ unconditionally. It’s really not an album with too many big surprises. That said, it has a slightly more mature feel than some of those early records, which might make it worth investigating by those who might have dismissed the band in the past. ‘On The Dancefloor’ doesn’t set out to change the world – or even send any big shockwaves through the ska scene – but despite any quibbles about slightly lazy choruses, it’s a record that finds the now veteran ska band in surprisingly good shape.
September 2025