Scootering Words & Sounds

The Launchers – The Leader (Island Farm)

The Launchers’ debut draws together a wide selection of sounds. Listen carefully and among the obvious reggae, 2-Tone and American ska influences, there are tastes of Motown, of Latin and jazz, of much more than you would find in a run-of-the-mill release. It’s actually quite hard to believe that this truly is their opening salvo, so assured is the sound, although this is largely due to crystal clear production from Island Farm, who pretty obviously understood where the group were coming from.

They’re not afraid to show their influences, they can be heard right across the album, but they combine them into their own sound, one that sits nicely on these ears. From the opening track, Weapon Of Choice, and its flavour of early 80s US ska and its secret agent obsession, through Saturday Night Fever and its very obvious nods to The Specials in its colourful description of nightclub hell, there is