from the EP Hectic, Lookout! Records, 1988A long time ago now, after the first wave but before bands like No Doubt made ‘ska’ a bad word, there was a foursome of smart-asses in Berkeley who decided they were gonna be the hardest-core ska band on the scene---and I’ll be damned if they didn’t pretty much prove that, though they only left us one album, one EP, and a small handful of singles as proof. British groups like Madness and the Specials had long appropriated ska from Jamaica and made it their own, but Op Ivy were one of the first hardcore-punk bands to speed things up this much; notably, the guitarist and bassist here went on to form the now legendary punk band, Rancid. Best line, “…when I wanna talk sense to you, it’s like spitting back at rain…”!
