The Aquabats are always ready to save us from the malicious space monster M and brighten our mediocre lives with the power of totally awesome musical vibes! They totally grabbed everyone’s attention with their first album with their wacky performance but this sophomore effort shot our brave heroes to unprecedented heights of uber l33tness with the showmanship and musicianship to boot. The fury of the Aquabats is easily their best album and has all their signature tracks.
The album starts of with the amazing Super Rad! It’s got a bouncing lil guitar riff and some simplistic drumming. The Ol’ Bat Commander chants some lyrics about those good days about being little kids playing various sorts of cute war games. This seems to be a consistent them in a lot of Aquabats songs. Everyone looks at their childhood as a carefree and purer time of their life, not burdened by the troubles of adulthood.
Red Sweater starts out with a really old timey feeling, which quickly bounces into a happy horn sectioning accompanied by the Aquabats traditional ska, surf rock-ish sound. The lyrics are insanely cute. Though I honestly can’t relate…now that I think about it my younger days sucked…
You're my girl
I'm your man
I don't care if we live in a garbage can
I'm your man
You're my gal
I'm so glad that we are pals.
Next is Magic Chicken. This is one of the first really “unique” songs on the album. It doesn’t follow the usually Aquabats patterns the whole song. Though at the beginning it’s the same carefree sound with plenty of horn and hilarious lyrics but it shifts into a semi-rap during the second half of the song. The lyrics are song in a really stupid but amusing way. I’ll tell you what…this guy is apparently a chicken machine.
Another cool thing about this C.D. is the couple instrumental tracks. The Fight Song sounds very surf rock based with a really fast pace. There’s also a sweet Egyptian riff backing up the frenzied drumming. Various crashing, breaking sounds, and muffled yelps can be heard until the song crashes at the end.
This fast paced riffing continues straight into the next track Cat With 2 Heads! The intro of the song actually sounds pretty doomy (that may not be a word but it sure is now!). The chorus has that same doomed and eerie feel two it. Near the end of the song is a funny narration about the cat’s creation and then some cat sounds can be heard in the back.
The Story Of Nothing is just a bright little piece about…gee… you guessed it …being invisible to a girl he loves! This song is just too formulaic to really impress me. Its only saving grace is the cheesy part when the MCBC sings
Let's talk about something else
Before I cry....
Waa, waa, waaaaa
Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates is easily the funniest song on here. It shifts tone, speed, and mood so often it’s really hard to describe. In between these shifts are brief and often disturbing accounts of the deeds of these little bastards! Expect nothing from this song but blood, midgets, pillaging, and tons of corny AHOYS!
Martian Girl is the first song where the bass has seemed to be remotely interesting. The horn section is again really good and the lyrics are about…bah there’s no point in saying. You’re a noob if you can’t figure it out.
I must say that Attacked By Snakes is the only truly “slow” paced song on this album. Again the bass line is really good and the Aquabats resurrect that Egyptian-esque guitar riff at the beginning. There is some great piano and some very sleazy sounding horns. The drums pound away all the while at a very danceable rhythm. Honestly, this song seems to have a very Latin feel to it. It’s about an army of Snakes ready to strike down our valiant hero. SO MANY SNAKES!
Idiot Box is a quick song about watching way too much television for your own good and how it can consume your mind! There’s not a whole lot to say about it. It’s not a bad song but it can be easily lumped along with The Aquabat’s other “usual” songs. You know…those ones you refuse to call filler but you’d swear you heard the same song a ton with different lyrics.
OH NOES! The Powdered Milk Man is here to destroy us all! What will we do? POWDERED MILK MAN! YOU MUST DIE! Our heroes fight back with lightning riffs, an insanely catchy chorus, and some unique use of the horns. The whole time there is a feeling of threat that surrounds the Powdered Milk Man much like dark tone attributed to the Cat With 2 Heads. There is a breakdown with some helicopter sounds and explosions. The lyrics completely seal the deal with this song however. This is probably the Aquabat’s best song.
Don’t you hate it when some idiot jock steals your chance with some girlfriend? Well that’s what the MCBC laments and croons about in My Skateboard. She left him all alone with only his skateboard to comfort him…and maybe his reassuring right arm.
Phantasma Del Mar is the second instrumental song on this C.D. It’s also the best. It has a mix of musical styles scattered through it. It starts out really deep and dark then shifts into a bolder riff. After that there is a more ambient section with bubbling noises. Near the end of the song there is a trippin guitar solo of sorts. It’s a great song that really shows of the Aquabats ability to make unique and technically proficient music without the need of silly gimmicks.
Oh Em Gee. After that last song, Lobster Bucket seems so ridiculously out of place. It’s a fantastic song though. It’s got banjo and a really cheery feel to it. There also seems to be some saxophone or flute in there. I’m really bad with naming instruments so if you listen to it I guess you can verify that yourself. The MCBC at some points distorts his voice into a wacky throaty grunt. The rest of the time he chants about lobsters being friends and helping each other to succeed.
The Theme Song is a quick number, which is basically what the title suggests. The theme song. It has a heroic sound to it and the lyrics clearly define the Aquabats history and purpose.
Remember that nostalgia theme I mentioned earlier about Super Rad? Well the hidden track Playdough is pretty much the same deal. I also want to note that this is the second time that they have sung about Scooby Doo on this album.
This really is the Aquabats best effort. It has almost all of their best songs and has most of the classic line-up as well. The Aquabats are such an enjoyable band and we are likely to never seen on like them ever again.
