Description
Chase the Sun is the third album by the American indie-rock/ska band The O.C. Supertones, released on BEC Recordings in 1999, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. Also marketed and distributed in the UK by Alliance Music. The album was recorded by Darren Grahn assisted by Nick Raskulinecz at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, California; with GGGarth (Garth Richardson) producing. Mixed by Jim Rondinelli assisted by Dean Maher at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, Canada.
The O.C. Supertones feature Matt “Mojo” Morginsky on lead vocals, Brian Johnson on guitar, Tony Terusa on bass, and Jason Carson on drums, with Darren Mettler and Daniel Spencer on trumpet and trombone respectively. (This is the only album to include Brian Johnson, whose spot was filled by Ethan Luck.)
News flash: America’s love affair with ska is over.
This isn’t to say ska isn’t a viable musical form. It’s just that the honeymoon of passionate discovery is most likely over, and it’s time to get on with making the marriage work.
This also isn’t to say that bands pursuing their ska-making dreams should give up. Rather, if you’re going to do it, do it well. And if you need a blueprint on how to do it well, look no further than The Supertones’ new one, Chase the Sun.
The Supertones’ third full-length effort is smart all the way around: smartly written, smartly played, smartly produced (thanks to Red Hor Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine cohort GGGarth Richardson) and smartly sequenced, providing a well-balanced listening experience that gets your feet tapping and brain buzzing at all the right times.
At the same time, Chase the Sun could have easily been titled Chase the Son, as The Supertones lay out its spiritual influences very clearly on the thrust of the tracks, such as «Sure Shot» where singer Matt Morginsky pines, “I’m wide awake and thinking about the Cross,” in his desire to help change the world. That track also contains the first hymn reference heard on a ska record in a while, with trombonist Dan Spencer and trumpeter Darren Mettler throwing in a few bars of «Gloria» for good measure.
It’s easy to imagine that songs from Chase the Sun will be youth group staples for years to come, such as the bouncy «Hallelujah», the rocking «Health and Wealth» and the frantic «Fade Away». But there are many tracks that warrant second listens due either to their subject matter (the danceable yet contemplative «In Between»), sonic experimentation (the pseudo-scratching vocals on «Grounded» come to mind) or just plain uniqueness to The Supertones (the acoustic-driven «Old Friend»).
It might be easy to pass over The Supertones as just another fad band. After all, we’ve seen the black suit, skinny tie look a dozen times in the ’90s, and some people look forward to a new ska-punk album about as much as they do a root canal. But if you pass by Chase the Sun without giving it a good listen, you might miss one of the more well-made pop albums you’ll hear this year. [Lucas W. Hendrickson, CCM, March 1999]
> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/chase-the-sun/725821345)
CD tracklist:
01. One Voice
02. Hallelujah
03. In Between
04. Away From You (feat. Crystal Lewis)
05. Dedication
06. Grounded
07. Sure Shot
08. Old Friend
09. Chase The Sun
10. Fade Away
11. Hanani
12. Revolution (Instrumental)
13. Health And Wealth
14. Refuge (In Conclusion)
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by BEC Recordings.
The February 1999 issue of CCM Magazine featured a cover story on The O.C. Supertones.
A full-page advertisement for The O.C. Supertones’ album Chase the Sun was featured in the January and February 1999 issues of CCM Magazine.
A full-page advertisement for various new releases on BEC Recordings, including The O.C. Supertones’ Chase The Sun, was featured in the April 1999 issue of CCM Magazine.
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