This album starts off with the very shimmering “TURN AROUND M8”, which sort of mixes all the usual genres that RAT BOY blends. There’s some Alternative Hip Hop in there, thrown in with some Indie Pop as well. Now, I’m gonna say this right off the bat, these vocals are certainly not going to be for everyone. They are sort of snobby and obnoxious but call me crazy, I feel like they go with the instrumentals almost too well. It’s a very summery sound, that for sure. But to be honest, for clearly Pop based music, this really isn’t that bad. It’s certainly a little outdated from time to time, with me wondering where the hell RAT BOY was in 1998. But outside of that, it’s one catchy intro. Then we have “REVOLUTION”, which is enough of a throwback to sound like a Blue B-Side from one of their better albums, or at least one of the other classic Brit Pop acts. This one is a whole lot more punchy, exploding with a whole lot of attitude. But to be honest, I’m actually kind of addicted to this track. There are certainly some obnoxious moments still, and these vocals I’m constantly going back and forth between enjoying mildly and completely hating. It’s also a little cheesy since there are some honest to God rap bars thrown in. But I just can’t get around how catchy and infectious “REVOLUTION” really is at the end of the day. I dare you to try and not hum this the entire day. Then we have “LAIDBACK” which is a completely different sort of animal. This one is the sort of breezy and summery tunes that harken back to the days of maybe Sugar Ray or maybe even Sublime in a strange way. But to be honest, it’s really not bad at all. I love the carefree vibe to this one and some of the breezier instrumentals. Not to mention, as iffy as these “Rap” verses go, this is certainly one of the instances where it really doesn’t come off half bad. That’s mostly because the vocals here aren’t nearly as obnoxious, and at least don’t sound like a blatant rip off of 90’s Brit Rock. Overall, “LAIDBACK” is pretty sweet. The very colorful production continues with “MOVE”. But I feel like for every time so far that I’ve felt like this album might be a LITTLE bit cheesy, that goes a hundred times more for this. The rap verses on this one come off ridiculously cringe worthy. Then, we have the hook here which sounds like with would have been written as a sort of parody of this style of music in the 90’s. At the end of the day, “MOVE” just takes itself way too seriously, which is where I feel like a lot of tracks lose steam with at the end of the day. What made me enjoy some of the earlier tunes was just how carefree they were, and this track is so much more serious. Not my cup of tea at all folks. “BOILING POINT” however gets things back on track quickly. I do have to say, I really enjoy a lot of the very fun production on this album. But where the hell is “BOILING POINT” even coming from? Like, not for nothing, this track is seriously heavy. Outside of this almost Alt-Metal sound to it, the production on this one is just so thick as well. Once again, I have to say this certainly sounds like something people would have eaten up in 1999. But hell, I’m eating it up now. The vocals aren’t as obnoxious, the choral sample is explosive, and I love the very grungy production.
This album is a real bag of goodies of classic sounds. “FAKE ID” honestly sounds like it would have sounded like some decent commercial Punk in the 90’s. But ironically, the more Raped verses on this one come off loads better among the very hectic and vibrant atmosphere. Hell yeah, this is a fine tune, but it’s also seriously fun. Something about this actually gives me a slight Rancid vibe, or at the very least Tim Armstrong’s Transplants side project. Not, the whole rebellious vibe here comes off just alright and all. But it comes off a little cartoonish for me. Outside of that, “FAKE ID” is a blast. Then we have “SPORTSWEAR” which brings in some straight up Indie Rock sounds, and they actually don’t come off half bad at all. As far as the live instrumentation goes, I really wish they did more of it, to be honest. It makes a whole lot of these Rap verses so much easier to enjoy. On “SPORTSWEAR” I feel like RAT BOY are right back to having a blast with whatever they do. The performance is urgent, the production has just enough of an edge to be fresh, and I really don’t have anything bad to say about this at all. Sadly though, the fun is kinda over, and most of the rest of the album has me scratching my head. When it comes to “LEFT 4 DEAD”, I certainly enjoy a whole lot of the instrumentals and the upbeat atmosphere. But the entire dark and somber tone to this track is seriously not flattering to their sound at all. Not to mention, I’m not nearly as into the vocal performance on this one. I feel like with “LEFT 4 DEAD” that RAT BOY took everything I loved about earlier tracks and are just using it all the wrong way. Once again, RAT BOY are taking themselves a bit too seriously. On “SIGN ON”, RAT BOY bring back in some nice elements of Indie Rock. But to be honest, here they just come off as a serious Earache. It doesn’t come off as fun or vibrant, it just comes off as an absolutely desperate attempt to be Arctic Monkeys. Which of course, they aren’t, not even close. “SIGN ON” ends up being really boring and ridiculously cheesy to almost unholy levels. It’s tracks like this that make me look at every lukewarm review for this album and totally understand. Plus, this chorus is easily the most annoying here. “KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK” on the other hand is surprisingly really explosive and energetic. Once again, in more upbeat occasions like this one, I feel like RAT BOY can pull off some of these Rap verses so much better and so much more interestingly. Also, it’s within hectic atmospheres like this that RAT BOY’s very colorful production shines magnificently. While may not be a perfect album I’ve heard this year, there is a TON of really great potential here. I don’t even mind the constant shifting of elements between Rap and Indie, it gives this album tons of personality.
Now, while there’s tons of personality, we also have tracks like “SCUM” which is seriously all over the damn place. This doesn’t come off nearly as colorful, it comes off as a jumbled mess. The beat most of the time just comes off as annoying, and the rap verses here seem so forced. Plus, when I hear tracks like “SCUM” compared to the more care free and laid back tracks here, I’m just tempted to go listen to them. Then we have “ILL BE WAITING”, which once again sort of comes off like a Blur B-Side. But to be honest, it’s sort of bland. I do however enjoy the vocals which seem to be coming off so much more in RAT BOY’s favor, And even the harmonies and melodies are really nice. But outside of that, what makes this a RAT BOY song? Like I said though, there are a few great elements to this though, and there’s a seriously epic vibe to this that has been completely absent from the rest of this album. This album ends off with “KICKED OUTTA SCHOOL”, and it certainly contains one of the more intense beats on the album. It’s actually not half bad at all though. There are a few moments here and there where I feel like some of the instrumental is obnoxious and takes a little too much from the vocals. But for one of the more rap centered tunes, this is certainly one of the more urgent tunes here. Also, it’s one of the less corny tracks which is a huge plus. Overall, I really dig this tune and all. But I do have one major issue, I feel like this tune doesn’t wrap up anything. Like, it doesn't really feel like a finale, it feels like just another track. Outside of that, it’s a decent tune.
Rating: 7.1/10
Give A Listen To: "REVOLUTION", "LAIDBACK", "BOILING POINT", "FAKE ID"
Overall Thoughts: Ok so this isn't a perfect album, let's get that out in the open. Sometimes these vocals are borderline obnoxious and sometimes this comes off as so painfully outdated. But as a straight up, fun blend of a bunch of different breezy genres, this really isn't bad. I wouldn't mind some better lyrics and a more conceptual theme in the future, but there's certainly a ton of potential in this project.
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