Streetlight Manifesto’s new record, The Hands That Thieve, is an instant classic in the ever-shrinking world of really stellar ska music simply by virtue of being a Streetlight Manifesto album. But what “Ungrateful” brings to the table is something a little subtler; it’s a great Catch 22 song.
“Ungrateful” harkens back to the spring of 1998 with a sort of alarming intensity. Its earnestly self-defeated lyrics contrasted against an utterly triumphant melody—mandatory shout-chorus included—check off all the most important of boxes on the ska-checklist. It’s a delightfully pared-down ditty on an album otherwise filled with more characteristically (and characteristically awesome) Streetlight songs.
But basically what I am trying to say here is that this is a good song; listen to it. And if you’re a fan, the rest of the album is fantastically catchy too. Check it out and you’ll be glad you did. [Spotify, Amazon, RISC]
