Review: Ska-P – Game Over

After 4 years of absence from the scenes, Ska-P are back with the eagerly awaited eighth studio album, released on October 5th, 2018 and entitled “Game Over”. If this title could have alerted some fans about the immediate future of the group, Pulpul himself has repeatedly made it clear that this is not a farewell album at all because it refers not to Ska-P themselves, but to the desired decline of the Spanish monarchy. To confirm this, in addition to the usual Gato López on the cover photo that holds the kings of chess in its paws, the first single that anticipated the release of the album is entitled “Jaque al Rey” (Check the king).
The album consists of 12 tracks. Both for the sound and for the topics it’s quite in line with the classic Ska-P style, in fact it has many self-quotations in the lyrics as in the music. To give a couple of examples, track 3, “No Lo Volveré a Hacer Más”, musically reminds me of “España va bien”, a 1998 song, and in track 5, “Colores”, the sentence “a la mierda reaccionarios, siempre amé la libertad” is quoted verbatim (A la mierda, 2000).
Two songs among all are those that have excited me the most and on which I would like to spend a few words. The first is the already mentioned “Colores”, which deals with homophobia with extreme empathy and delicacy. An invitation to love feeling free from prejudice, a hymn to diversity and the many nuances of love and sexuality. A warm and persuasive song, I expect to hear people singing it and dancing to it during the next Pride.
The other, perhaps my absolute favorite on the album, is “Brave Girls”. The lyrics are about women and gender equality, a topic that when addressed by a man could risk falling into reverse discrimination. None of this, as a woman I applaud Pulpul, who instead managed to describe the fight against sexism as a common battle to be fought together, men and women: “caminemos juntos ni atrás ni delante, codo con codo compañeras” (let’s walk together neither behind nor in front, side by side comrades). Great lyrics and great vocal proof on the very high notes of the chorus.
Overall “Game Over” is a very nice album that will surely pass with flying colours the live test, of which we saw a taste recently at the Partirò per Bologna festival and that I hope we will see again soon on the Italian stages. A long-awaited return that has not disappointed fans’ expectations.

 

TRACKLIST:
1. A Chitón
2. Eurotrama
3. No Lo Volveré a Hacer Más
4. The Lobby Man
5. Colores
6. La Fábrica
7. Patriotadas
8. Cruz, Oro y Sangre
9. Adoctrinad@s
10. El Bufón
11. Brave Girls
12. Jaque al Rey

ALBUM RATING: 8

KEY SENTENCE:
“Por la libertad es fundamental la diversidad” (Colores)

Reviewed by Elvira Cuomo