Los Hooligans

Shantytown/JumpUp Recordings
LOS HOOLIGANS swam against the Third Wave's tide with a return to the horn dominated style of early ska (as only an 11-piece band can do) and they return in fine form with "Mafioso Ska" (Shantytown/JumpUp). They also retain the elements of Latin jazz that was dominant in the sound of the Skatalites. That said, they offer a set of all-original material on this new work in a paradoxically "traditional" ska style on cuts like "Any Other Day," "Shanghai Blues," and "Just Let Me Be A Man." - Chuck Foster, The Beat Magazine

Puro Eskanol, Vol. 1, Aztlan Records
Through the collection, Aztlan Records shows wit and humor. Take Fresno’s Los Hooligans’ lounge-ska cover of “Piel Canela.” This creative rendition, though funny when you think of its origins, comes off so cool and suave, you’ll feel like jumping up and doing the cha-cha-ska! - Paul Saucido, Frontera Magazine

Moon Ska Records
From the lounge track, “Lady In Red” Latin ska, “Ojos Negros,” to the revamped swing, “Swing Right Rudie,” Los Hooligans show they’re not limited to one simple and formulaic style. It’s this sort of versatility that keeps the album from becoming old and flat the way lesser traditional bands tend to do…albums like “Traditions” are precisely why Moon wins the pennant every year. - Mike Wu, Badger Hearald, University of Wisconsin

Moon Ska Records
What sets them (Los Hooligans) apart from many modern ska bands is their ability to play, and when I say play, these cats have got it down. They also manage to avoid the Achilles heel of most contemporary ska bands, by having vocalists who actually deserve to be heard outside of their own shower stalls. - Matt McMillan, Exclaim! (E-Magazine)

Moon Ska Records
Unlike some traditional ska bands, Los Hooligans have quite a few hooks to get the less traditional-minded rude folk into their music. The album mixes together trad-ska, lounge, and swing into a hip smorgasbord of musical articulation. - Yuzo Watanabe, Rimshot (E-Magazine)

Los Hooligans may have run wild across the stage, but in the studio they defied their name to behave like perfect gentlemen, reeling out the most sophisticated and flawless performances imaginable. No wonder third wave fans were blown away by the arrival of their long-awaited debut album, 1997's Traditions. That masterful set established los Hooligans as one of the highest-caliber bands on the scene, a reputation that remained unsullied even as the group underwent significant lineup shifts that saw many original members depart, a host of new ones arrive, and the band expanding to an 11-piece. Now, they're back with a new set, Mafioso Ska. Unlike Traditions or Los Hooligans' last cover-filled eponymous set, this time the bandleader, trumpeter/percussionist Tony Luna, composes all but two of the songs, and takes a co-writing credit on one of the remainder. This does not mean, though, that the album is any less musically eclectic; if anything, it's more so, now encompassing the pop-inflected "Any Other Day" (a bit reminiscent hook wise of the Toasters' "Decision at Midnight") and the Far Eastern-flavored "Shanghai Blues." From propulsive, jazz-flavored skankers like "Big Pot Popah!" and "Hannibal" to the lavish swing-styled "This Thing of Ours," and on to the compulsively dangerous title track, this gangster set has it all. There's also a plethora of excellent vocal tracks, the brash aforementioned "Day," the Spanish-tinged "Forget Why You Still Think of Me," the cool stylings of "I'm Just the Foolish One," the bopping "True Love," and most spectacularly, the soulful Sax-styled "Just Let Me Be a Man" among them. Once again, los Hooligans deliver up an album guaranteed to set the entire scene alight, with every track as spectacular as the one before it. It was a long time coming, but well worth the wait. - Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide (mp3.com)

How can you not love an album that begins with the sound of a guy getting gunned down for mentioning the name of the very band you're about to get an earful of? Apart from an obvious sense of humor, California's Los Hooligans wield some expert ska skills as well. Even for a ska outfit they're heavy on the horns (six of 'em), and that brass sure does blaze. Plus they know when a dose of jazz, rockish guitar, or Latin rhythm will goose things along. The instrumental pieces come across stronger than the vocal ones, since that's where the nuances really show through, but the ordinary-guy sentiments of songs like "Forget Why You Still Think of Me" and "Just Let Me Be a Man" throw in a few grins along with the urges to dance. Some of the relentless rhythmic gallop that characterizes much ska is toned down here in favor of a lighter touch that at times seems to split the difference between ska and swing, giving the band an open, grooving feel that fits their cover of Carly Simon's "You Belong to Me" and most everywhere else as well. Equal parts vintage cool and original swagger, Mafioso Ska is mobs of fun. - Tom Orr, reggae-reviews.com