Artist: Family Force 5
Album: Dance or Die
Label: Transparent Media Group
Released: Out Now
Reviewed by: Andy C
This Atlanta 5-some have been around since 2001, however this is the first time that I have had the pleasure to listen to the band, and those first impressions are good. It is a tough mix to try and do what these fellas are doing without being branded as a 1 trick pony, but with such a wide range of things going on and what seems like all the genres of rap, post-hardcore, punk rock, alternative, electronica and nu metal thrown in to one big melting pot it surprisingly keeps the album fresh throughout.
Track 1 kicks in with the bands first single from the album ‘Dance or Die’, at first the track sounds like it wouldn’t sound out of place on any Eurythmics or Pet Shop Boys album, its not until the big beats and stabbing guitars come in that you know what the band are all about. Track 2 arrives with the build up that you can sense something big is coming, it does with a Nine Inch Nails type riff that
is a certain face melter when the volume is cranked up. Track 3 ‘Rip It Up’ continues to bring the beats, big guitar and 80’s electro feel and big chorus that will stick in your mind for the rest of the day.
It’s not until we hit track 4 that the album finally takes a breather with a track that sounds like something Timberland would churn out in a couple of minutes and have a hit on his hands. We soon get back to the sound that makes the album what it is with track 5, ‘Fever’ which brings back the beat that even Justin Timberlake would have been proud. Anyone who doesn’t dance along to the lyrics ‘I think my bodies in shock, I just don’t know what to do, I feel my temperature rising, past a hundred and two!’ certainly has their music bone missing.
Track 6 opens with a Killers feel and never really gets going like the other tracks, unlike track 7
‘D-I-E 4 Y-O-U’, the opening section is an instant face melter with an energetic feel throughout, it’s not until the end of the track that the band open a riff that would instantly have you moshing around the living room, even if you were on your own. Track 8 seems to be the token love song, that does sound slightly out of place on this album, again track 9 is in the same vein, but is slightly improved due to the pop punk feel of it.
Track 10 is again an aggressive mix of pop, rock, punk and electro that the album is built on, the final track ‘Radiator’ is much of the same but overall, at just over 40 minutes, the album has such a wide mix of genres applied that it will apply to the masses and hopefully bring them all together as only music can.
With 2 sold out UK shows and recent shows at the Reading & Leeds festivals, you will certainly be hearing more of these guys soon.
(9/10)
For more ‘Family Force 5′ visit Myspace
Buy the album now from Amazon
Reviewers: We are being contacted by Promoters to feature live reviews and albums on the site, if you would like to get involoved with attending shows for us all over the UK and/or reviewing albums/ singles for us, Please get in touch via gettothefront@gmail.com
Add A Comment