Mixing genres can be dangerous. Many bands attempt to blend the two, but most often fail to do so. I’m reminded of a story about The Orange County Supertones, and how they used to mix genres before going rocksteady ska. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones did the same thing, only they did it in the 1980s, and they only mixed a couple of genres, which somehow worked out well because they would hit the studio to record one of the first showings of hardcore punk and ska mixed into one ball of fury. Of course, that sort of mix is now common, but not in 1989, where “Devil’s Night Out” firmly sits as the debut record for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
If your first introduction to the band is “Devil’s Night Out”, then you’ll find the band in rare form. They are strong out front with gravelly vocals, ska sensibilities, but with a flair for the punk rock sound that you’d expect from bands from the late 1980s. It’s got melody at times, it has that future Mighty Mighty Bosstones polished sound, but there’s something hardcore about this record.
The more you listen to “Devil’s Night Out”, the more of a taste of the band’s future you get. There are some catch songs, some straight rocksteady ska songs, and a nod to punk rock ethos all in the same. It’s an album that has contradictions at times, and it’s too easy to call it a simple ska record because it has a lot more to offer, especially in terms of guitar work. As far as the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, “Devil’s Night Out” is a promising debut to check out even after all these years.