The Black Jacket

Related Content

• Dog Beat Dog: To Pull Off the Biggest Pit Bull Fighting Bust in U.S. History, Investigators and Their Dogs Went Undercover
  September 2, 2010
• Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, July 16, 2009
  July 16, 2009
• Rolling Thunder
  September 22, 2005
• Bottle Racket
  December 9, 2004
• Letters
  August 12, 2004

More About

• Gary Wilson
• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
• Ska
• Music Sales

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

What's the most surprising characteristic about this DIY-sounding album? That it's not just some dude holed up in his parents' basement multi-tracking in the bathroom to achieve that just-so sound. Because it seriously sounds like that. However, The Black Jacket is a full band featuring a number of members from Phoenix's best (and now defunct) ska band, the Dietrichs. The best tune on this effort is "Like Father Like Daughter," which features guitar lines bouncing along with enthusiastic drum passages before the song slows down to a half-time that leaves room for a spacious, slightly hazy electric guitar solo. The main listening challenge throughout the nine-track album is to put up with the distorted and disarming vocals, which don't often match the chilled-out instrumentation. Basically, 30 years ago, during Gary Wilson's You Think We Really Know Me-era, this album would have sounded awesome and super-ahead of its time. But today, it just sounds pretty good. Proceeds from CD sales go to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.