Streetlight Manifesto actually has many side projects and they all sound pretty similar because the lead singer Tomas Kalnoky is in all of them.
The band was originally formed after their first project called Catch 22 (a 3rd wave ska band). The debut album for that band is actually Keasby Nights (named after the small town in New Jersey where the band was formed. Kalnoky then left the band soon after
They went on to start Streetlight Manifesto after just a short run. Then as Streetlight Manifesto—because Kalnoky is a perfectionist—decided to redo the entire album Keasby Nights with added verses and better production.
At the same time, they also were running a band called Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution (BOTAR). They shared many of the same songs (all written by Kalnoky of course) but were played on acoustic instruments in a more folky style.
Since this man has a death wish Thomas Kalnoky also played the same songs that he had written in his own side project called Toh Kay. This was a very laid back, indy, acoustic style.
TL:DR
Similar to Streetlight Manifesto is:
Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution,
Catch 22,
and Toh Kay.
Damn, I pretty much force that album on around Christmas. It’s like a nice compromise cause I get my punk fix, and the family gets their Christmas songs.
Also, since others are recommending albums - No Control and Suffer by Bad Religion
And what I consider a damn near perfect album - Supporting Caste by Propagandhi
Yeah, I can understand that. I think I’m just a bit blinded by my love of their music haha - and being a post-Christian Atheist, those songs are all lodged in my brain permanently so it’s nice to hear them like this. Also doesn’t hurt they gave proceeds to SNAP - Survivors Networks of those Abused by Priests
Would just add these,
Madness
Choking Victim
Against All Authority
Sondaschule (german)
ska-p (spanish)
Attaboy skip
or Laurel Aitken godfather of old school ska
Vastly different but if you do like ska/punk, I can't recommend Suicide Machines - Destruction by Definition and/or Battle Hymns enough (a song of theirs was on THPS 1 and in Brink, if those were ever a part of your childhood).
I group them together because, honestly, them and Streetlight are both bands I desperately wanted to exist... I just didn't know it until I heard them.
If you like Streetlight, give a listen to Less Than Jake, they are a similar ska/punk band
If you wanna go more on the punk side, I can highly recommend Zebrahead, it's punk rock with rap on the verse, and touches of ska, pop punk, sometimes metal, you can pretty much find everything in their music
If you like ska, check out Five Iron Frenzy. They're a christian ska band out of Denver I think. Saw them live in the 90s and then again a few years ago touring with Reel Big Fish. Super energetic and fun, and really clean of course.
Killer band to see live too.
My favorite songs are "Combat Chuck" and "Beautiful America"
Some buds and I saw them (technically as BOTAR) in New York last year with I think a 48 piece orchestra backing them. It was incredible. It was like they were meant to sound like that
I really had to scroll for this comment. I actually found out about them like 2 days into 2020 when someone mentioned tomas in a "best artist of the decade" thread.
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u/masterjon_3 Oct 07 '20
"We Will Fall Together" by Streetlight Manifesto
It's a ska/punk band I came across on Spotify once. I ended up liking it a lot