Tone and Wave: female fronted

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Monday, January 12, 2026

The Jinkies - Nine-Piece Nug Combo (1996)

Another great gift to us from Marcel from the Punk Guy YouTube Channel.

Thank you Marcel!

1 Scooby Doo

2 Mixed Messages

3 Darlin'

4 Groovy Doo

5 Last Night

6 No Exit

7 Road Trip

8 Studio J

9 Give it Up

Here's his channel. Do yourself a favor if you haven't already.

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Sunday, January 11, 2026

The Usuals - Non-Album Tracks (2026)

This is a Tone and Wave exclusive. I compiled their tracks from compilations and singles a few years ago and I shared my collection of 8 songs on a Facebook forum but if you were one of the lucky few who downloaded it, you might still want this one. It's pretentious of me to date it "2026" when this is not an official release by the band and these songs were recorded a long time ago but I did it to distinguish this collection from the previous one.

The difference is that this one includes all 4 songs from their 1994 demo tape "May I be Excused" which was just shared with me today by Marcel who does the Punk Guy YouTube channel. If you are not already subscribed to his channel you are remiss in your duties as a collector of this type of music. It is primarily punk but there is a lot of ska, and I mean a LOT of ska, as well as indie, garage, a little bit of funk, and, really, just about everything.

The Usuals - Non-Album Tracks

(Yes, I know some were on the albums, I just included all tracks from the singles.)

1 Salty Coffee

2 Rocket Power

3 Catahoula

4 Besame Mucho

5 The Setup

6 Cupid

7 Hey Boy

8 Bring on the Night

9 Dig the Beat

10 Let's Play

11 Had Enough

12 Ice Cream

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Saturday, December 27, 2025

Son of Blob - The Hippest Cats in Skaville (2001)

I recently received more information about the band Son of Blob from the band's guitarist Maurice Bierhuizen who commented:

"Hi there, I recently read this nice post. I played guitar in the Son of Blob and 2nd hand sneakers back in the days. I've recently remastered the album The Hippest Cats in Skaville (the sound was pretty muddy before), I thought you might be interested.

To give a bit of more info; Skippy was our second male singer in the Son of Blob, and was replaced by female singer Lilian who can be heard on The Hippest Cats in Skaville album.
When the Son of Blob broke up, most of us moved on in the new band 2nd Hand Sneakers, with a new female singer Nina. Great potential, but people went abroad and the band broke up in around 2 years time."

He shared the link to his YouTube channel and his post for the full "Hippest Cats in Skaville" album.

CHECK IT OUT.

Thank you Maurice for the corrections.

Sunday, September 14, 2025

The Barrymores

Female-fronted third wave ska from Canada.

As time went on they got better. The vocals went from fun amateur to professional pop vocals. The songwriting started out strong and got even better over time and the band played tighter. Unfortunately as they got better as a band they drifted away from ska. That last album has horns in a few songs but there is only one ska/reggae song and the rest is pop-punk.

I like pop-punk and I think it's a great album but I am disappointed that they moved away from ska when they were at their finest.

The Barrymores - Kill All the Ska Kids (demo CD) (2001)

1 The Barrymores Theme

2 The Great Date Skatastrophe

3 S.S.

4 Up the Bum

The Barrymores - The Barrymores (2001)

1 Song One

2 The Way It's Supposed to Be

3 My Girlfriend's Got Bigger Balls than Me

4 Pachabel's Skanon

5 Menace II Society

6 The Great Date Skatastrophe

7 S.S.

8 It's What You Did

9 Missing in Action

10 Up the Bum

11 What You Think About Me

The Barrymores - All Nighters (2004)

1 200 Late Days a Year

2 Why So Much Hatred

3 Hearsay

4 Jesse and Jo

5 Run Run da Chillin'

6 Think Straight Again

7 Our Ocean

8 By the Way I'm Not Your Girl

9 The Sweetest Song

10 Can't Stop the Rock

11 Just Another Stupid Day

12 Tick

The Barrymores - New Invasion (2006)

1 New Invasion

2 Radio De-Lite

3 There's Something Missing in Paradise

4 Diary of a Neurotic

5 In the Mayfair Streets

6 Another Night with You

7 Old Dogs

8 Back in Eighty One

9 Every Day

10 World of Repetition

11 How to Kill a Goldfish (Still Hooked)

12 Destin for Nothin'

13 Lies, Cheat and Deceit

14 Karma Kids

15 My Problem is You

The Barrymores - non-album tracks

* Another Teenage Love

* Happy Hour

* No Sugar Tonight

* Our Ocean

* The S Song

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Sunday, March 16, 2025

Skaramouche - No Exit (2007)

I posted their second CD HERE but I never did find a copy of their first one but recently I found that somebody had posted it online at 128 kbps. It's good enough for me and, since I haven't had the time to rip, edit, and scan any of my own stuff I thought I'd share it with you.

Much thanks to the original poster!

1 Offbeat

2 Too Much Hamlet

3 No Exit

4 C'est Toi

5 On the Catwalk

6 Now I Know

7 Maria

8 No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service

9 Superman on Holiday

10 Verano

11 Skaramouche

12 Goodbye

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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Skadatel - Demo CDR (1998)

This is a female-fronted ska band from the U.S.. They were from Wisconsin or Michigan. I don't remember exactly. They had one song "Without You" on Moon Ska's "Skarmageddon #4: Armageddon Time!" compilation.

That song came off of this CD-R. I don't know if they ever released anything aside from this demo CD-R.

1 John Tesh

2 Underwear

3 Bust a Move

4 Without You

I also don't have their "Venus" 7"

Sunday, February 16, 2025

2nd Hand Sneakers / Son of Blob

2nd Hand Sneakers - demo tape (2003)

1 One Night Stand

2 Nica's Dream

3 I'd Rather Stay In

4 Youth

2nd Hand Sneakers was formed immediately after Son Of Blob broke up in 2003. This is possibly their only recording.

Let's take this back a bit. Son Of Blob was a Dutch ska band that formed in the mid 90s. They played De Melkweg in Amsterdam alongside bands like Catchup Squad, Venus Hill and De Hardheid and shared the stage with The Slackers, The Toasters and The Selecter.

The known Son Of Blob line-up was:

Skippy - vocals
Michiel Leeuwenburgh - bass
Maurice Bierhuizen - guitar
Kris van der Heyden - drums
Hessel van der Flier - keyboard
Jeroen Mullié - trombone, trumpet
Lodewijk Reijs - alto sax, baritone sax

Son Of Blob had a music video for their most well-known song Rode Fiets (Red Bicycle) but the drummer in the video was called Ron and he was one of the founding members of The Upsessions.

Some of you may remember a post I did in September 2023 about a blank cassette I had and I didn't know who the band was.

As it turns out it was a demo tape by Son of Blob that they recorded after their new singer Nena joined the band. I thank aboynamedstew for steering me in the right direction which eventually solved this mystery.

I don't know what happened to their iconic lead man Skippy but it seems like people were used to the original lineup with Skippy at the helm and Nina was a hard sell. I don't know for sure that's what the situation was but that's my observations as an American 20 years after the fact.

Nina was the vocalist for the demo tape as well as for their only full-length.

The band didn't break up after that, they just changed their name to 2nd Hand Sneakers with the intention of changing their sound to incorporate more mellow reggae sounds as well as aiming for a pop sound.

This post includes the 2nd Hand Sneakers demo as well as everything I have by Son Of Blob which is not complete.

I do not have their full length The Hippest Cats in Skaville (2001)

Here's what I do have:

Son Of Blob - S/T cassette (1997)

1 Rode Fiets

2 Lady Marianne

3 Mighty Spliff

4 Tweedle Kans

Son Of Blob - Rode Fiets 7" (1998)

1 Rode Fiets

2 Make Me Feel

3 Penetration*

4 Fantast

Son Of Blob - Skagiddyboogiddy (1999)

1 Britishlessness

2 Er Uit

3 Mr. PC

4 A-Team

Also included is a live song called "Het Strand" (The Beach) which was recorded on the same night that the first demo tape was recorded but it was not included on the tape.

DOWNLOAD the three Son Of Blob recordings and the 2ndHand Sneakers tape

* The song Penetration is a cover of "Penetration" by the first American skinhead band The Pyramids.

They were skinheads before skinheads were a thing.

Friday, January 10, 2025

Random Order [Canada]

Random Order - Destiny (Cassette 1990)

1 One Drink

2 Positive Emotion

3 You've Got the Power

4 Generally Speaking

5 Oppression

6 Fashion

7 Destiny

toneandwave · Fashion

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Random Order - Soul Control (cassette 1993)

1 Resistance

2 Joire de Vivre

3 Fashion

4 Things Fall Apart

5 Soul Controller

6 Tables Turn

7 Serious Distraction

8 Things Fall Apart (re-mix)

toneandwave · Resistance

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Random Order - Not a Perfect World (1994)

1 Perfect World

2 Fashion

3 Less is More

4 Presidense Choix

5 Things Fall Apart

6 Resistance

7 Glad to See You Go

8 Joire de Vivre

9 Fraction

10 Oppression

11 Things Fall Apart Dub Mix

12 Perfect World Dub Mix

13 Shame Shame Shame

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Random Order - Dimples and Anti-Depressants (2010)

1 What's on Your Mind?

2 Double Standard Girls

3 It Takes One to Know One

4 Sink or Swim

5 Destiny

6 Frame of Mind

7 Feel the Greed

8 Foxy Lady

9 Skavinsky

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Steady Ups Meet The Speakeasies - Reggae Showdown (2002)

For those of you nursing a hangover or just starting the new year in a more mellow, relaxed mood.

The Steady Ups were from California and the Speakeasies were from New Jersey. Each band offers five tracks of their style of 90s reggae.

1 Steady Ups - No Need to Worry

2 Steady Ups - You Amaze Me

3 Steady Ups - Bygones

4 Steady Ups - I Never Wanted to Hurt You

5 Steady Ups - Mr. Swindle

6 The Speakeasies - Top Ranking

7 The Speakeasies - Cary, Il.

8 The Speakeasies - Country Boy

9 The Speakeasies - Go With Him

10 The Speakeasies - Time Will Tell

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Blue Meanies [UK] - Banquet (demo tape 1991)

There is the well known third wave American ska band called "Blue Meanies". This is not the same band. This was a British female-fronted ska band that was involved in the late 80s - early 90s anarcho-ska scene.

Their only official releases were one 3-track 7" record, a live cassette with Citizen Fish, and this demo tape. I have never obtained any of their recordings myself but I found this demo tape on THIS YouTube channel where they give credit to Dick Lucas for ripping and sharing this tape.

The three-track 7" had two songs that were on this tape but there was one song called "Head on Mars" that wasn't on this tape but I have included it as track number 10 in this download.

1 Mythical Table

2 Poll Tax Collector

3 Get Out of the Rut

4 Summertime

5 No Solution

6 Frank

7 Lout

8 Leave

9 Waiting Man

* Head on Mars

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Saturday, December 9, 2023

Shakerz - Shakerz (1998)

This was a female-fronted ska band from Orange County, California in the 90s. Imagine if No Doubt was actually a ska band (they weren't) they would sound like this.

This CD is the only thing this band released aside from the song "Christmas Wrapping" that was on the 1998 Drive-Thru Records compilation Christmas Gone Wrong.

I have included the song "Christmas Wrapping" in this download so you have every song they ever released.

1 Selfish One

2 Soca Loca

3 Pipe Dreams

4 Hard to Name

5 Boogie Man

6 Island Joe

7 Interlude (Outback)

8 Christmas Wrapping

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Did you hear that? in the video at the 13:40 mark she said "We have tapes for sale in the back."

They have a demo tape. We need to find this!

Sunday, October 29, 2023

Blitz - Heil Reagan 7" (1981)

It's the B-side which makes this meritorious of a Tone and Wave post.

A - Heil Reagan

B - No Time

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Sunday, October 15, 2023

Isaac Green and the Scholars - The Strikeout Summer Seven Inch (1995)

1 Strikeout Summer

2 TroubleBound

3 Good Guys (Don't Wear White)

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Friday, September 22, 2023

Do you know who this is? - a ska mystery [UPDATE - October 15, 2023]

I have about ten ska demo tapes without any covers or labels or any kind of markings at all. I don't know who the band is, what year the tape is from, or even where the band is from.

Earlier today I listened to some of these tapes and this one here stood out.

Every song is great. The voice sounds a little familiar but I can't place it exactly. This is 90s style 2-Tone inspired ska with female vocals played very fast. The last song is the A-Team theme song so that should give us a starting point but I have Googled this (or "done my research" as some might say) but I can't find anything about this tape.

There are four tracks of female-fronted ska from either the 80s, 90s, or early 2000s and they could be from any country. All lyrics are in English if that helps

1 - ?

2 - ?

3 - ?

4 - ? (The A-Team Theme Song)

UPDATE - I found an old folder with this tape that I had ripped previously and I have titles. I have searched these online to no avail. Do any of these titles sound familiar? Especially that first one? You would think that title would stand out.

1 Britishlessness

2 Er Uit

3 Mr. P.C.

4 A-Team

I thought her accent sounded Dutch and the title "Er Uit - "Get Out!" "Get outta here with that shit" -or- "Go on with your bad self" is a Dutch expression.

When I first said her voice sounded familiar I was thinking of Rebelation but now I'm reconsidering.

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Friday, August 4, 2023

Bellary - Bellary EP (2003)

This is a ska band from Sweden. I don't know if they ever released anything aside from this demo EP but the first song "The Wheel" should be considered a great ska classic. It sounds like all of that great ska from the early 90s.

1 The Wheel

2 Out of My Head

3 Reklam

4 Lonely Feeling

Monday, July 24, 2023

Out of Line - Channel Surfing (2003)

1 Part of Me

2 My Crazy Ways

3 My Possee

4 Self Righteous Wish

5 5,029 Ways

6 Cut of Life

7 Salty Sister

8 Blue Smile

9 Call Me

10 Evil Twin

11 Al's Sailboat

12 Disappointment

Sunday, April 23, 2023

The Grown Ups - I Spy Something Blue 7" (1997)

A - I Spy Something Blue

B - Sawdust Caesars

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Skaface [Canada]

Skaface - Skaface (demo tape 1990)

1 Sounds Like a Love Song... But it's All About Sex

2 Skarred by Ska

3 Skaface

4 Nazi Skinhead

Skaface - Mamooska (1991)

1 Your Future

2 In Crowd

3 Pick-Up Man

4 Monkey Do

5 Jumpstart

6 Sometimes

7 Rude Boy Problem

8 Wasted City

9 Fear and Loathing

10 Life of Eddy

11 Don't Care

12 2 Tone Attitude

13 I Hate Disco

14 You Don't Understand

15 Mind and Body

Skaface - Sunday in the Dark EP (1993)

1 No Idea

2 No Man's Land

3 Ambiguous Show

Skaface - Ask Cafe (1995)

1 No Idea

2 Homeland

3 This Bottle

4 Twisted Planet

5 The Barrier

6 I Saw You

7 No Man's Land

8 Creeping Bile

9 Marie O' Connor

10 Grace

11 Bed of Nails

12 Somebody Wants You

13 Ta i Bfad o Tu

14 Skarred by Ska

15 Skaface

DOWNLOAD from Zippyshare

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Sunday, March 12, 2023

Los Dingos - 737 Destino Estambul (2002)

Female fronted third-wave rocksteady from Spain. Most songs are sung in English.

1 Being a Hero

2 Un Camino

3 Sweet Home Reggae

4 Atlantis

5 One Feeling