It will dominate your life

I am the proud owner of three FIF cds (Newest album, End is Near, Boogaloo) and this one dominates them all. Listeners beware, though: these songs will get stuck in your head like bubble gum in your hair. They will be running through you brain all day so loud that people sitting next to you will probably hear them too.

Pre-ex-girlfriend is possibly one of the best and funniest songs I have ever heard. The blasting brass (and saxophone) will have you jumping around in your room so much you'll probably be decapitated by the ceiling fan. If you're having one of those days where everything goes wrong (your dog dies, you lose your job, a madman abducts your children, you're shot three times in the abdomen), listen to song number 8, Plan B. The rhythms are quite cheerful. Track 11, Car, will, if you are listening to it in your car, probably cause you to plummet over a cliff because excessive head banging will impair your driving.

In this day and age when people will buy an album for one good song while all the others sound like the musical equivalent of Spam, you can rest assured that on this cd there are only to bad songs. Case 1: The Day We Killed. The dragging, ear-splitting sounds coupled with lyrics that are about American Indians named "Crazy Horse" (I bet he got beat up by all the other kids at school) make this song easily skippable. Case 2: Eulogy. This song lacks compelling beat. It is deeply poetic and, as a result, hard to decipher. Plus, the tempo is as slow as a one-legged race-horse. But please, do not let this defer you.

Whether or not you are considering buying Electric Boogaloo, you should purchase it. CDs like this do not come out every day. Just be sure not to listen to it in the car.

When you want to rock . . .

An Atlanta band called Loudflower released an album in 1997 entitled "Happy Now?" Their label, Gray Dot Records (Third Day), hoped to cash in on the ska-core craze by signing a band with a knack for writing emotive rock and roll backed by a horn section. No ska rhythms, no rockabilly, no new wave comparisons. Just straight-ahead rock in the Americana realm with some horns in the background, just enough to emphasize melody and structure. <br />
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Five Iron Frenzy has never been one to follow a trend. If, as a serious musician, you didn't read any reviews and delayed in purcahsing "Electric Boogaloo" because you thought it might be as annoying as some of the tracks on "All the Hype that Money Can Buy", join the club. If you also feel stupid for having waited so long to buy it, your feelings of self-deprication are understandable. FIF pushed through with a blistering rock album that emotes without being overly emotive, ponders without being self-important, and satisfies the harder rock yearnings of its base of fans.<br />
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I'm not going to give a blow-by-blow of each song. Suffice it to say that this is one of the stronger, tighter records of FIF's career, second only to their magnum opus "The End is Near". The band understands that for one to rock and still sound viable, one must rock steady if they are to rock at all. The dual-guitar techniques of playing alternate lead riffs opposite the other is still in place here, although the arrangements are somewhat more intricate. The horn arrangements threaten to knock the wind out of you, but don't become annoying or overpowering. Unfortunately, unlike Loudflower's knack for making the horn arrangements part of the structure of each song, FIF's horns seem to be more along the lines of countermelodies, filling space left by sustained vocals and spacious chord progressions. <br />
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Since everything here is pretty much full volume, there's not really much room for the band to move around. It's all in your face, hypoglycemic, ADHD-injected music, and it may be best to take it in small bites rather than swallowing everything whole. Add to the that first four songs sound a little tiresome if you listen to them back to back, as vocalist Reese Roper's vocals are set within the same high range for a significant amount of time. While effective in the songs themselves, combining all of them together can grate on the unassuming ear. Probably the biggest reason why I'm rating this 4 stars instead of 5. <br />
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Otherwise, a major kick-butt album. Buy it now before Christ returns and it's too late.

Not the same as their earlier CDs... but rocks all the same!

If you're looking for ska, then don't look here. True, the horns and lyrics and amazing musical talent of FIF is still in this CD, but it is much, MUCH more rock based then ska. Only number 8, Plan B, sounds at all like their earlier songs. So, if you only want ska, go for an earlier FIF album, but if you want a little more of a "rock-with-horns" feel, then this album rules.

My favorite songs are numbers 2,3,5,9,12; and the only song (the only FIF song so far) that I don't like is number 11, Car.

2. Far, Far Away. This is based on an old song that Reese's mom used to sing to him. This song is seriously awesome. There are biblical references in it alot, and the lyrics are good, but what just blows me away about it is the blending of the music. My favorite part is the second verse where the rythym guitar really kicks in and there are some keyboards. "And Peter was a liar, a traitor just like me. And Judas was a hypocrit, and Paul a Pharisee. When truth can be so distant, and hope evades our reach, Peter swam across the water and found it on the beach."

3. You Can't Handle This. This is an empowerment song to anybody who has ever considered themself to be in anyway a nerd. Just listen to it and you will know what I mean. This is typical Reese Roper lyrics all the way. "And Leonard Nemoy can't stand up to this. And Captain James T. Kirk bows beneath my fist. And I am awesome. Awesome! I am the AWESOMEST!"

5. Spartan. The feelings evoked by this song are best summed up by a quote from my brother: "Man, if I was atheist, that song would make me Christian." Words don't do it justice. This is by far my favorite song on the album. "Jesus, save me, from myself tonight."

9. Blue Mix. This song is a knock on the recording industry, and how it has become all about money. It's a good song, much more on the harder, more rock type sound that pervades this album. The guitar parts are very coo, and there is an awesome bridge near the end of the song with a guitar/drum solo that I love. "Sure you say one thing but your actions tell the truth on you!"

12. Eulogy. There is some speculation as to what this song is about, but I personally think it is a tribute to all those who died at Pearl Harbor. It's a good song, kind of like a history lesson mixed with a prayer. A great way to end the CD. "If Jesus Christ is true, then I am mostly lies. If Jesus Christ is love, then I have failed to try. If Jesus Christ is life, then please just let me die. Let this die!"

All in all, a wonderful CD. All the songs are good, just be warned that this is a pretty new sound for FIF before you buy. But I like it just as much as the old FIF sound. Best of both worlds! And if you like this CD, definitely check out their 2-disc final album, The End is Here, available April 20, 2004.