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The Slackers

American ska band

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
4 min read
Source updated January 22, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

The Slackers are an American ska band formed in Manhattan, New York, in 1991. Their music blends ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz, drawing heavily from 1960s Jamaican music while incorporating American and British influences.

Emerging from New York City's early-1990s ska scene, the band became associated with the revival of traditional ska and rocksteady in the United States in the 1990s, distinguishing themselves from the more punk-oriented third-wave ska movement through an emphasis on roots reggae, rocksteady, and soul-based arrangements.

Over a career spanning more than three decades, the Slackers have released numerous studio albums, toured extensively across North America, Europe, South America, and Japan, and maintained a largely independent, do-it-yourself approach to recording and touring.

01Career

By the mid-1990s, The Slackers had become an established presence within the American ska and reggae underground. The band’s second studio album, Redlight, was released on September 23, 1997, received notable critical recognition. It was ranked number seven on Billboard editor Carrie Bell's "The Year in Music (1997)" list, and its title track charted at number 116 on the CMJ Radio Top 200 during the week of November 10, 1997, marking its third week on the chart.

Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, The Slackers maintained a steady release schedule, accompanied by extensive touring. During this time, the band became known for long, varied live sets and a large rotating repertoire, reportedly comprising over 200 songs, including original material alongside covers adapted to their roots-oriented style.

Interviews from the era emphasize the group's reliance on live performance rather than mainstream promotion as the central driver of their career, with touring serving as both their primary source of income and their preferred creative environment. Members have also described their studio work as an extension of their live performances, with arrangements and recordings shaped by material tested and refined on tour.

The Slackers continued to release albums and tour extensively in the decades that followed, maintaining a steady output and a consistent live presence. In 2022, the band released the album Don't Let The Sunlight Fool Ya, which reached number one on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.

03Members

Current lineup

Former members and contributors

Former producers and collaborators

  • Victor Rice, producer and bass
  • Zack Levine, producer
  • Eric Sierra, songwriter
  • David Lindome, producer

04Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

  • "2-Face" (1996)
  • "International War Criminal" (2004)
  • "Pully Split" (2004)
  • "You Must Be Good" (2006)
  • "Little Joe" (2006)
  • "Minha Menina" (2007)
  • "Dreidel" (2009)
  • "New Years Day" (Urban Pirate Records, 2010)
  • "Xmas Every Day" (2011)
  • "Crazy Baldhead" (2012)
  • "Sarah" (2012)
  • "My Bed Is A Boat" (2013)
  • "By You With You For You" (2013)
  • "Heroes b/w Always On My Mind" (2015)
  • "I Can't Hide" (2016)
  • "The Boss" (2016)
  • "Wrongfull Suspension" (2018)
  • "Peculiar" (2019)
  • "The Way Of A Woman" (2019)
  • "Baba Roots" (2019)
  • "Sleep Outside" (2020)
  • "Nobody Listening" (2020)
  • "Blue" (2020)
  • "Widowland" (2021)
  • "Watch This" (2021)
  • "人にやさしく / Wicked Must Survive" (2021)
  • "Don't Let The Sunlight Fool Ya"(2022)
  • "New York Berlin" (2022)
  • "Kill You". (2023)

Demo cassettes

Live albums

  • Live at Ernesto's (2000)
  • Upsettin' Ernesto's (2004)
  • Slack in Japan (2005)
  • NYC Boat Cruise 2009 (digital only, 2009)
  • Slackfest NYC 2009 (digital only, 2009)
  • Holiday Party With... (digital only, 2009)
  • Live On the West Side 4/6/10 (digital only, 2010)
  • Live In San Francisco 12/31/10 (digital only, 2011)

Collections

Compilations

DVDs

  • Give 'Em the Boot (2005): "And I Wonder"
  • The Slackers: A Documentary (2007)
  • The Flamingo Cantina Series with The Slackers (2009)
  • The Slacker Live On Video (2014)
Watch videos about The SlackersExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “The Slackers”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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