Flobots- Survival Story

Paul's Choice:

Flobots- Survival Story

Friend Review:

Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever had an album ever exceed my expectations as much as this one did. Flobots had the most typical story ever set up: their first major album was pretty average. It produced one awesome song that saw major radio play but other than that they were pretty quiet as all the other tracks were just alright. Let’s start this off from the beginning: after hearing “Cracks in the Surface”, it is my personal opinion that every album from now on should start with a super awesome crescendo. This thing grabs your attention quick and sucks you in; if that first song doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will. One new thing I love about this album are the trading verses between Johnny 5 and Brer Rabbit. Even if the lyrics get a bit cheesy in “The Effect”, the constant trade-off between the two rappers keeps things fast-paced and interesting. Between these two and violist Mackenzie Roberts, (just listen to her sing in “Defend Atlantis” and “Good Soldier” and try not to fall in love) the group is not short of vocal talent. Which leaves me bewildered as to why they felt the need to include Tim Mcilrath of Rise Against on “White Flag Warrior”. It feels out of place and forced in, if they had Roberts singing on that track I think it could’ve been decent, but I cannot stand the sound of Mcilrath on that track which I believe is definitely the weakest of the album. Matt Morris is also featured as a guest vocalist in “Infatuation”. His inclusion is definitely more subtle than Mcilrath’s contributions but does not contribute much to the song. The closing song “Panacea for the Poison” features Rabbit’s voice at its smoothest and the soothing sound of Roberts’ viola, something I have yet to find in any other band. I know I’ve put a lot of emphasis on the vocals, but I don’t want to take any credit away from the instrumentation of the album. In any given song the music alone keeps the listener interested. Hip Hop/Rock works are very hard to pull off, but Flobots accomplishes it in this album flawlessly. If you get a chance, I urge you to listen to more than just “White Flag Warrior”, I know I was happy with my choice.

Friend Rating:

8.6

Hipster Review:

I must disclaim: I am not exactly a fan of this band. But at least the material I've heard from their debut was fun. Yeah, it wasn't that original or (in my opinion) good, but it was entertaining enough. But on this album it sounds like they're eyes are bigger than their stomaches. This time, instead of aping Cake, Flobots have decided to go for a P.O.D. (ew), Rage Against The Machine-esque sound template, while throwing in a bunch of stuff that, quite frankly, doesn't belong. I was both intrigued and confused by the band's decision to include Gogol Bordello-like instrumentation in the songs. It's a neat idea, but it really doesn't fit well here; if anything, it makes the songs sound even cheesier than they already are. Which brings up another aspect of the album that bothers me: the lack of a cohesive narrative or message. Flobots are penned as a "political-minded" group, but lyrically there are way to many ideas that are thrown at the listener, without any real knot tying them together. I'm sure they have plenty to say, they just don't put it together well. And now I come to the rapping, and I'm assuming that this is supposed to be a Rap album for the most part: it really feels like that basic premise is pushed to the sidelines behind all these other ideas. The rapping seems like an afterthought, which is a shame because "Jonny 5", as he calls himself, is a half-decent MC. All in all, this is a pretty lame album, overzealous in it's scope and half-assed in it's execution.

Hipster Rating:

3.8

Coming up on Sunday, "Congratulations" by MGMT!