Stop the Presses, Got it?!

Review by: Mister Substitute

If you’re familiar with my other articles and reviews (or just me in general), I think a lot in metaphors. Stop the Presses released their latest album, “Got it” about a week ago and Mustard asked me to write this review the day it came out and I agreed to and even said I could get it out rather quickly. Yet, as I said, it took my a whole week to get this review written and here is where the metaphor comes in: in thinking about writing this review, I wondered what video game reviewers do when they come across a game they thoroughly enjoy. Is it difficult because instead of writing, you’re enjoying the thing you should be reviewing instead? For me, absolutely. I’ve listened to this 8-song, 30-minute album 2-3 times a day for the past week. Here’s why.

“Got it” is a reggae-steady, trad ska masterpiece.

Did you get that? A masterpiece. Stop the Presses (StP) have put together something that simultaneously feels familiar and new. Start-to-finish, I can’t keep my shoulders still or my feet steady. Musically, “Got it” rides up and down the reggae-rocksteady-ska line. Lyrically, the album is intimate, heartfelt, catchy and memorable. Ali Culotta’s voice is beautifully harmonized and recorded masterfully. Again, this album is nothing short of a masterpiece.

Every song on this album is highly effective in the sense that the music always matches with the message. “Make the Best of It” starts with this train-like and persistent organ bounce and brings the album to an excellent start as Culotta sings “You better watch out, the world keeps spinning, you gotta spin with it, come on!” And then you have the more reggae-inspired track in “Ride or Die” (my personal favorite track of the album). I am obsessed with this song: The beautiful lyrics, the Jamaican-inspired wails, the beat, everything. Then you have the inspiring track “Rebel Girl” that honestly gave me “9 to 5” vibes at first but has this great message of femininity and independence. The closing track, “Aiwdis” is the definition of catchy. The chorus will forever live rent-free in my brain because I too often feel the “aiwdis” (All I wanna do is sleep).

Stop the Presses have been around since at least 2013 when they released their album “Eskandalo.” Their discography is ironclad ska and that makes me incredibly happy. You can check out “Got it” and their other albums and singles on Spotify and also on Bandcamp. Catch Stop the Presses on Twitter and Instagram, too!