Review Summary: Gob damn it. This is average.
Gob. A Canadian four piece punk band who formed in 1994 in Vancouver, BC. Taking cues from bands such as
Goldfinger and
Blink 182, Gob's immature snot nosed bubble gum pop-punk gained a following in Canada in 1996 with the release of "Too Late... No Friends." After releases of their self titled and "How Far Shallow Takes You," numerous Warped Tour appearances, and a large Canadian following. It wasn't til
Sum 41 who cradled Gob under their wings after the release of their 2001 album "The World According To Gob" where they reached a solid fan base, when the Sums took them on tour. Following the tour, Gob signed with Artista Records and soon after followed by this release of "Foot In Mouth Disease." Leading with the single
"Give Up The Grudge," which is also featured on the American Wedding soundtrack, Gob was set to take over the pop-punk world with their brand of silly, angst-like lyrics and hard driven 3 chord system.
Gob:
Tom Thacker - Lead Vocals/Guitar
Theo Goutzinakis - Guitar/Backing Vocals
Craig Wood - Bass
Gabe Mantle - Drums
The opening track suggest just that.
"Lemon-Aid" opens with a mini drum set, somewhat cheap sounding. But once the verse comes along, it shows you what?s to come. Catchy verse and an even more catchy chorus. With a guaranteed mini solo after every chorus. Lyrics somewhat childish, about putting a girl in her place, which is common through out the entire album. As opposed to the drum opening to the first track, the clapping intro to
"I've Been Up These Steps" sorta makes me tap my feet to the clapping beat. But when the song progresses, it sounds vaguely familiar to "Lemon-Aid."
"Oh Ellin" is somewhat of a different formula of the past two songs. Starts off in the chorus, but just gets repetitive as you hear
"Oh Ellin, what can I do" over and over and over and over again. Also it drags, more than a 4 minute song should.
I don't want to hear anything about "emo" on
"I Cut Myself, Too." I don't use that word loosely. Aside from the song title, it?s a great song. It seems Gob hit everything right on this song. The feel, the more 'complexity' of the guitar work during the verse, that feeling it gives that makes anyone wanna somewhat dance a bit. Its still about putting some girl in her place, but it's a damn good track to listen too.
Fed Up gives a different feel to the album at this point. More of a rock track, than a pop-punk sound. Slow start, a piano kicks in, even when it picks up I still hear the piano, which adds a nice effect. The most interesting track lyrically here is
"Ming Tran." Not because it does something special, just for the one line that blatantly stands out.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ming Tran
One of these days, my friend Ming Tran will kick you right in the face
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Other than that line, nothing interesting on the song, still kinda bland and starting to feel the same as about everything on this album. The most obvious filler track is
"When Life Gets Boring." Just sounds like the first two tracks, but just more boring, no pun intended. Same lyrics on getting back at a girl, putting her in her place.
"Give Up The Grudge" was the lead off single from here. It?s a nice introduction to the band. Like the impression of, lets see, lyrics of getting back at a girl through the art of music, what a shocker. Then again on here, the lyrics are quite interesting. Catchy chorus and a nice bridge before the chorus. The music on here sound a bit blah, but better than others on here.
"Bones" gets more aggressive from the get go. It's a great in-your-face type of song. Vocals have a nice touch by Tom reaching a higher note at the end of a line in the verse. Short song too, only 2:12 long, but within that song there is an anthemic chorus, which really stands out among the blandness of the album. Another easy filler track,
"This Evil World." Its hard to think of this song as nothing but boring. But the music is just pure boring during the verse. And the chorus is a step up, but all in all, its not a well executed track.
"I Hear You Calling" is a rehash from their 2001 album "The World According To Gob." It's a good song, but wasn?t needed an updated version, especially when the first version was better than this one. Its anthemic chorus drives the song, as a well pulled off verse cuts through the song. Here?s a song that?s completely different from anything on here.
"Bully" starts off boring enough. Some of the worst vocals here is during a verse, but it all makes sense as the chorus hits. It turns to a scream fest as the music intensity increases. Interestingly enough, it blends to a great track. Still a track about getting back at some girl, as the bridge repeats "Tired of being pushed around. Gonna be an emergency."
"Cold Feet" is meant to be a filler, towards the end of the album. But it turns out that its not a bad filler track. It's a bit leaning towards a rock track, than a pop-punk. The lyrics are kinda stalkerish, and actually different for the first time. He's actually pleading for his love to come back. Why would she after being threatened to be kicked in the face (in Ming Tran). The last track is a bland way to end the album.
"Everybody's Getting Hooked Up" doesn?t offer nothing more than anything on the rest of the cd. Its blah musicianship and poor lyrics thrown to a last track.
I came into this review thinking its gonna get a decent score, since I've listened to it on and off for the past 2 years or so. After a careful analysis, its lack of musicianship, filler tracks, and the samey feel to the album outweighs the good on the it. I did like some of the daring, snot-nosed lyrics provided. Then again the lyrics lacked variety, as did the music on the album. The energy is there, especially during tracks like
"Bully" and
"Bones." But its countered by the lack of energy on
"This Evil World" and
"Oh Ellin." Such a shame too, it had so much potential.
Final Rating
C
The Sludge's Thumb Up's
I Cut Myself, Too
Fed Up
Bully
