MattA75's Full Review: The Fury of the Aquabats by The Aquabats
In the past decade, ska music has taken a dramatic turn for the more serious, no longer being the playful good time music it once was. Not that this is a bad thing, after all, bands like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones have matured nicely into a hard hitting band that can still write a rather silly song here or there. However, there is one band, from southern California, that is absolutely putting all the fun back into ska music. They are The Aquabats.
Dressing up as super-heroes and writing quite possibly the most inane songs this reviewer has ever heard, the Aquabats are, probably to a great degree of surprise to a great many people, refreshing. They don't take themselves too seriously, they have fun, and from a first-hand concert experience, I can safely say they care about their fans.
This, their second effort, entitled The Fury of the Aquabats, is a wonderful mix of ska and new wave pop, and, it seems to me, inspired greatly by Devo of Whip It fame. The album opens with what can only be considered the Aquabats theme song, Super Rad. Probably the most non-sensical song on the album, it warns you will "feel the wrath of the super rad." This song is perhaps one of the best examples of how you don't need great lyrics, just great music.
The second song, Red Sweater, literally starts off with a 1950s feel with "bop shoo wop" being repeated over and over before you're thrown into a great song dealing with devotion to a loved one. OK, so the lyrics ("You're my girl, I'm your man, I don't care if we live in a garbage can") aren't exactly the best, but it follows the Aquabats formula of not getting too serious.
Magic Chicken is just as asinine as Super Rad and twice as fun. When someone who is not even into ska has to jam out to this song, you KNOW it's a great ska song. The lyrics are incredibly catchy and irresistible, and the music gives the song a great anthemic quality.
Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates actually sounds like an old school song that would be sung on the high seas. The story of the midget pirates might be the funniest thing I've ever heard in music in my life. The band also shows their willingness to rock out in the middle of this song.
The band also so nicely included three songs from their somewhat hard to find debut album, The Return of the Aquabats as well. Martian Girl is about just that, "a female martian with a wild grin, big orange eyes and green skin." Idiot Box is all about the dangers of watching too much TV, and contains references to Casper the Friendly Ghost, Mickey Mouse, Scooby Doo, and Mr. Magoo. =)
The final bonus track is hidden at the end of the record, and it's entitled Playdough, a reference to that lovely stuff we all used to play with as kids. It's here where the lyrics are truly anthemic and it's sad how much I relate to these following lines:
When I was a little man
playdough came in a little can
I was Star Wars' biggest fan
but now I'm stuck without a plan
GI Joe was an action man
Shaggy drove the Mystery Van
Devo was my favorite band
take me back to my happy land
I think if anything it captures what we all want to capture as we get older: the innocence of our youth.
OK, maybe I'm reading way too much into that song. That's just me. If you want a strong introduction into the world of ska music, then this would be a good place to start. If you do get this and like what you hear, I highly suggest trying some early Bosstones (their TAANG records stuff to start), Less Than Jake, and Mustard Plug.
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