AMG Review of Firme

Peter J. D'Angelo
All Music Guide

Released in both English and Spanish versions, Voodoo Glow Skulls' 1995 effort may have been one of the high points in popularity for the seven-member ska-punk outfit. Unlike some more laid-back performers in the genre, and coming from a time before the style was commercially successful, Voodoo Glow Skulls are a bit more heavy-handed on the punk part of the mix, resulting in consistently fast-paced and chugging song structures that occasionally erupt into triumphant horn breakdowns and chanted group vocals. The group's ska stylings very nearly save the day a number of times. A cover of the traditional "Charlie Brown" and a few Spanish numbers come off pretty well, and the disc also includes "Fat Randy," one of the group's more convincing ska-punk hybrids, whose kinetic horn parts and metal choruses earned it a bit of airplay in the mid-'90s.