Reel Big Fish.
With a name like this, any listener should know right off the bat that these
guys mean business. With their awkward humor and their crazy style,
these six members seem to question everything--even themselves. With
previous album titles like “Everything Sucks,” “Turn the Radio Off,” and
“Keep Your Receipt,” a big slice of negativity is definitely served from
this band; however, it’s this same pessimism that makes this band so
appealing to the ears.
With their latest album on Jive Records, the group
clearly went a bit more optimistic with the title, “Cheer Up!” But do
not be fooled by the happy wording. The band still has the unique dark
and twisted view that so many fans have grown to love. This clearly shows
in the song “Where Have You Been?” when Aaron Barrett (lead
vocals/guitarist) sings, “You say you need me more than anyone else, well go
to hell, where have you been?” And then there is the track titled
“Dateless Losers,” where Barrett sings about lonely Friday nights and
feeling unappreciated. In the track “Valerie,” which has an ironically
uplifting beat, Barrett angrily sings, “Valerie, you make me wish I was
dead, I’ll never ever be the same, my life is through and you’re to blame.
And now all I can hope is that I’ll never see you again.” WARNING:
While listening to any Reel Big Fish album it is okay to question the degree
of possible trauma they might have experienced in their early childhood
years.
Yet, behind all of the negativity, there is a very
positive part of Reel Big Fish. This especially shows in the lyrics
for the first track on the CD called “Good Thing,” Aaron exclaims, “…But
then you came along and helped me sing a song, and now I feel okay, I hope
it can stay this way. You know we got a good thing goin’ and I don’t
want to see it end.”
I think the band’s style and approach to music is great to a certain degree,
but don’t be offended when I say that I can only handle so much of it.
That’s just my personal opinion. It’s like telling me that I have to
listen to a Sheryl Crow record all the way through— it’s just not going to
happen. In general, I believe Reel Big Fish does, indeed, have “a good
thing goin’.” If it wasn’t for bands like this, a healthy chunk of
variety would be missing from the music world. I hope this group
continues to stay what they are and make the music they love to play.
After finishing up Warped Tour this summer, the band will be hitting the
road again to tour throughout Europe.
-John
Murnane
Links:
www.reelbigfish.com
www.jiverecords.com |
