It might seem strange that a band like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones that is entering the third decade of its career – and whose members are finishing the fourth of their lives – is now releasing an album, the key word in whose title is “youth”. On the other hand the Boston collective that has a fourty-something year old hypeman in its ranks – Ben Carr, who still to this day dances his ass off during all of the band's shows – might still have something to say on the subject. 'The Magic of Youth' is probably the the album carrying the most powerful energetic charge that The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have released since their creative and commercial peak from the mid-'90s. 'The Daylights' is the typical punk-rock opener – just a bass riff leading the way for the fast verses, where the guitars are accompanied by the band's relentlessly catchy horn section. It is the kick in the face that sets straight that the songs on this album are overall faster, shorter and more punk sounding than the ones on the band's previous one, 'Pin Points and Gin Joints.' And also more diverse: 'Disappearing' slows down the tempo, leaving room for the brass instruments that dance around the groovy percussion; 'Sunday Afternoons on Wisdom Ave.' is a mid-tempo ska preach about life in New England; and the closer 'Open and Honest' is a magnificently dynamic ska-core tune that goes a few times from stomping reggae to fiery punk and back. In 'The Magic of Youth' there's plenty of everything that makes this band great – the cool riffs, the catchy melodies, the powerful horns section, the choruses that get stuck in you head and the signature gravelly vocals of Dicky Barrett who once again is telling stories as if he has grabbed you as a unvoluntary listener at some bar. Will any of the 11 songs on this album become a hit like 'Someday I Suppose' or 'The Impression that I Get?' Not very likely because the '90s are over and the media have stepped down from the ska wave a long time ago. But The Mighty Mighty Bosstones probably hardly care and are surely going to jam the hell out of these songs live. With the same energy like if they were in their 20s.