The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Look past the crisp suits and larger-than-life single (the horn-blasting, feel-good hit of the summer "The Impression That I Get") for a second, and you'll quickly see the Mighty Mighty Bosstones for what they are: ska-core who that got their start headlining basement shows in 1985, earning every sliver of success they've enjoyed in the decades since. That includes a Clueless cameo that served as an impromptu house party set (the head-rush riffs of "Someday I Suppose," the sun-baked swagger of "Where'd You Go") and the band's very first major-label release, the cover-driven EP Ska-Core, the Devil and More, featuring such faithful tributes as the breezy Bob Marley track "Simmer Down."

Hits and highlights aside, the career-skimming selections in our Next Steps show just how well-rounded the Bosstones' catalog is.

More than a decade of rarities and unreleased cuts are covered in Medium Rare, a carefully curated compilation that balances B-sides like the bright and brassy "Is It?" with a handful of post-hiatus jams that beg for a whole new album (including the metallic, groove-locked hooks of "The List"). The rest of our Next Steps help to tell the Mighty Mighty Bosstones' story as well, from an arena-ready Kiss cover ("Detroit Rock City," which ought to be played alongside a scary level of pyrotechnics) to a subdued fan favorite that shows the Bosstones' horn section strutting its stuff like a proud peacock ("Hell of a Hat").

Speaking of fan favorites, our Deep Cuts would raise the heart rate of any listener who's been around since the Devil's Night Out days.

Hit play on "Police Beat" — an SS Decontrol cover at a boiling point of gnarled heavy metal guitars and raspy hardcore vocals — and you might think you've stumbled into CBGB, circa '83. Which is the point, really. While the Mighty Mighty Bosstones' rich and rowdy horn section is lifted straight from England's 2 Tone playbook (the Specials, the English Beat), the band's many members constantly bring new influences to the table. Some seem tailor-made for rocking parties ("Enter Sandman," a loose, lo-fi Metallica cover), but others have expanded the Bosstones' sound over the years, including the lounge-lizard intro of "Let Me Be," the churning chords and hypnotic horns of "Bad In Plaid," and the lonesome, lingering harmonica finish of "A Little Bit Ugly."

Back home in Boston, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are larger-than-life guitar (and horn) heroes — an Aerosmith for the Warped Tour set. And who can blame anyone for having a bit of Beantown pride in this case? After all, the Bosstones have been an uncompromising leader among ska's third-wave since the late '80s — willing to embrace pop hooks in everything from "The Rascal King" to "Royal Oil," but always finishing off their melodies with gritty riffs that recall the group's mosh pit-imploding past (local hardcore acts like Gang Green and Impact Unit, the pre-Bosstones gigs of bassist Joe Gittleman and vocalist Dicky Barrett). The push and pull between punk and pop, rocksteady and reggae, and heavy metal and hardcore on the Bosstones' 1989 debut, Devil's Night Out, was so ahead of its time it invented a new subgenre — ska-core, a peace treaty at the skate park between fans of the Specials and Minor Threat.