Hepcat: Greg Lee (vocals, percussion); Aaron Owens (guitar); Efren Santana (tenor saxophone); Kincaid Smith (trumpet); Deston Berry (keyboards, background vocals); Dave Fuentes (bass); Scott Abels (drums, percussion).

Additional personnel: Karina Denike (vocals); Vince Hizon (alto saxophone); Andy Kaulkin (piano).

Engineers include: Ted Scarlett, Wes Seidman, Brian Dixon.

Recorded at Third Stone, Burbank, California and Sunburst Recording Studio, Culver City, California.

Personnel: Deston Berry (vocals, keyboards); Greg Lee (vocals, percussion); Alex Desert, Karina Denike (vocals); Aaron Owens (guitar); Efren Santana (tenor saxophone); Kincaid Smith (trumpet); Andy Kaulkin (piano); Scott Abels (drums, percussion).

Audio Mixers: June Murakawa; Hepcat; Bob Wayne.

Recording information: Sunburst Recording Studio, Culver City, CA; Third Stone Studio, Burbank, CA.

In the 1990s, a variety of young bands found a variety of ways to use the ska beat. Many of them combined ska with punk or pop and did so with interesting results; no one would mistake the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, or No Doubt for an authentic Jamaican ska band of the 1960s, but then, none of those bands have claimed to be ska purists. They are rockers who love ska, not disciples of the Skatalites or Toots & the Maytals. Hepcat, however, is another matter. While other bands that emerged in the 1990s offer ska-punk or ska-pop, the Los Angeles-based Hepcat really does sound like a classic Jamaican band. Push 'N Shove, Hepcat's fourth album, was recorded in L.A. in 2000, but much of the time, it sounds like it could have been recorded in Kingston in the 1960s. Most of the music on this rewarding, if derivative, CD isn't fast enough to be called ska; rather, many of the songs recall rock steady, an early form of reggae. From a remake of Brenton Wood's 1960s soul hit "Gimme Little Sign" to Hepcat's own material, Push 'N Shove often takes you back to a time when Jamaican greats like Desmond Dekker, the Wailers, and the Paragons were being influenced by the great soul music that was coming out of Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia -- a time when residents of Kingston and Montego Bay were well aware of what the Delfonics, the Impressions, and Marvin Gaye were up to in the United States. While Push 'N Shove isn't innovative or distinctive, it's heartfelt and certainly rewarding. ~ Alex Henderson

Falling more between the sound of ska pioneers The Skatalites and the 1980s U.K. Two-Tone movement rather than the hybridized sound of third wavers No Doubt and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, L.A. natives Hepcat conjure up all sorts of rootsy purity on their fourth album. Like legendary session guitarist Ernest Ranglin, this septet displays an impressive range that covers many of Jamaica's musical shifts.

With the punchy, out-in-front drumming punctuated by plenty of crisp rimshots and shuffling brushstrokes, Hepcat take on samba-flavored instrumentals ("The Ronnie"), soul singer Brenton Wood ("Gimme Little Sign"), and rock-steady romanticism ("You And I"). Former frontman Alex Desert even took a break from his acting duties to serve up vocals on Lord Funny's obscure calypso nugget "Tek Dat." Best of all is "Prison Of Love," a collaboration with Dancehall Crasher's Karina Denike who uses a sultry tone reminiscent of reggae songbird Nadine Sutherland to add a smoky ambiance to this dub-heavy tune.

Alternative Press (12/00, p.101) - 4 out of 5 - "...A modern ska-punk-metal mishmash...with an elegance that follwos in the Jamaican tradition of ska music..."

CMJ (8/7/00, p.32) - "...Taps straight into ska's primary origins in R&B and jazz to create an aura that perfectly simulates the genre's checkered past....reaffirming the band's mastery of the classic ska groove..."