The Selecter “Celebrate the Bullet” 1981. 2022 reissue on clear vinyl. This second LP by UK ska group (and a former 2 Tone label band) is my friend Micah’s, lent to us after an evening of Negronis, chili and chats about music. I wasn’t familiar with the Selecter so that is now being remedied. The band was pretty short-lived, forming in 1979, gaining rapid success with several UK hit singles, and putting out their debut album Too Much Pressure in 1980. But they broke up in 1981 not that long after the release of Celebrate the Bullet: there were tensions between band members’ desires to go in different directions (more new wave vs traditional ska) but the real nail in the coffin was the album and title track name, “Celebrate the Bullet,” the release of both happened to coincide with the murder of John Lennon (BBC banned the station from spinning the single) and the attempted assassination of Reagan. The single and the LP both bombed and the band called it quits. (Though like a zillion other 80’s bands, they did reform with different and rotating lineups a bunch of times in the 90’s and 2000’s.) The overall themes of the tracks are bleak and commentaries on the political and social situations of the early 80’s, though my top picks are musically ska-bouncy and danceable: “(Who Likes) Facing Situations” and the aforementioned title track “Celebrate the Bullet.” I find some of the tracks to be a bit head-scratchy like “Selling Out Your Future” which is ok but devolves into some wandering guitar noodles, the high-pitched 80’s-meets-60’s synth of “Cool Blue Lady” is so very not ska and “Their Dream Goes On” is a Bowie-esque head trip. It’s certainly interesting but seems to lack a cohesive vision (see why the band broke up above).