The Slackers Releases Animated Video For They Are Losing

THE SLACKERS, whose new album recently hit #1 on the Current Reggae Charts with their new album Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya, have released an animated music video for “They Are Losing.” The record is now available on Pirates Press Records’ webstore. The band will be touring in support of the record all year long across North America and Europe.

“They Are Losing is a rebel song to cheer your spirits. Progress aint a straight line, it’s zig-zaggy with tornadoes and tombstones all over it,” says frontman Vic Ruggiero. He adds: “A majority of the world believes in climate change and it’s happening sooner than we thought. People will still always fall in love beyond race and religion and gender and no wall can stop it. No one can stop the time.”

The video features striking animation on hot-button topics that permeate today’s society. It was illustrated and animated by Phil Vandereyken who also created the video for “Windowland.”

Overwhelmingly rave reviews have been pouring in for the new album, as New Noise Magazine exclaims “Seven years is along time to wait for new music, but The Slackers more than made up for it with their latest offering” and BrooklynVegan adds “All of the elements of their classic sound are present in this collection of songs that range from laid-back reggae to upbeat ska in the way that only The Slackers can.”

The process for bringing this chart topping album to life was one that was met with the COVID trials and tribulations that make this feat even more remarkable. The band used their sound engineer’s house to practice and record while also trying to accommodate everyone’s personal situations.

“The main challenge/s we had to overcome in making the record had to do with distance, finding a way to involve Vic and Glen, who live on the West Coast and thus 3000 miles from the rest of the band. We put half the band in one room, half the band in another, we continued to wear masks around each other, put a giant shield around the drums and just hoped for the best. Glen and Vic very graciously gave up their West Coast lives to live at Marc Critelli’s house for 2 months while we completed the majority of the record,” remarked drummer Ara Babajian.

Rolling Stone recently hailed The Slackers as “THE legendary New York City ska band” and this is by no means hyperbole. Having formed in 1991, The Slackers released their debut album in 1996, Better Late Than Never, and then signing with Epitaph Records and releasing their breakthrough full-length, Redlight, in 1997. From there, the band traveled the world and began to develop a prolific audience through their fun and energetic shows.

14 full-lengths later, countless EPs, singles, and touring all around the world playing to thousands and thousands of fans from Tokyo, Japan to their hometown of New York City, The Slackers return with Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya. Marc Wasserman, author of “Skaboom! An American Ska & Reggae Oral History,” says The Slackers’ “…songs are about real darkness, depression, anger, sadness and loneliness, and some of the political songs as well are pretty vibrant.”

“In the middle of 2020, every time we started doing a livestream, we would stay after and start recording new music. By the middle of 2021, we had an album recorded. A lot of these tunes like “Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya” were written right after we had just gotten out of lockdown,” says Hillyard.

The New York Times dubbed the Slackers part of ‘the sound of New York,’ and The Slackers just keep at it, only improving with age and experience – writing better and better songs, and continuing to build and strengthen that global Slackers family. Washington Post has described the impact The Slackers have left on the ska scene: “The Slackers have become the elder statesmen in American ska music, setting the stage for a new generation of musicians and a thriving scene….they remain at the top of their game.”

Catch The Slackers on tour:

05/18/2022 Denver, CO – Oriental Theater
05/20/2022 – Dallas, TX – Three Links
05/21/2022 – Houston, TX – Scout Bar
05/22/2022 – San Antonio, TX – Rockbox
05/25/2022 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
05/27/2022 – Flagstaff, AZ – Yucca Room
05/28/2022 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
05/29/2022 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater

7/15/2022 – Seattle WA – Nectars
7/17/2022 – Portland, WA – Star Theatre

09/26/2022 – Birmingham, UK – Hare and Hounds
09/27/2022 – Manchester, UK – Retro
09/28/2022 – Huddersfield, UK – Parish
9/29/2022 – Nottingham, UK – Old Cold Store
09/30/2022 – London, UK – Underworld
10/1/2022 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
10/2/2022 – Newcastle, UK – Think Tank
10/3/2022 – Bristol, UK – Exchange
10/4/2022 – Antwerp, Belgium – Kavka
10/6/2022 – Haarlem, Netherlands – Patroonaat
10/7/2022 – Den Haag, Netherlands – Paard
10/8/2022 – Sittard, Netherlands – Ernestos
10/9/2022 – Freiburg, DE – Cafe Atlantic
10/11/2022 – Zurich, Switzerland – Komplex
10/12/2022 – Munich, Germany – Feierwerk
10/13/2022 – Vienna, Austria – Arena
10/15/2022 – Sluderno, Italy – Loki
10/16/2022 – Nuremberg, Germany – Desi
10/17/2022 – Hannover, Germany – Lux
10/18/2022 – Berlin, Germany – S036
10/19/2022 – Hamburg, Germany – Molotov
10/21/2022 – Koln, Germany – Gebaude 9
10/22/2022 – Arlon, Belgium – L’entrepot