Review Summary: If you want lyrics that change your state of mind, or musician ship that will leave you gasping...stay away.
But give this a try if you enjoy sing-along songs, catchy melodies, or just something good to listen to,
Forever the Sickest Kids is another of the several electronic laden bands from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and fortunately for them, one of the better ones. Formerly known as The Flipside, FTSK underwent a name change, and some what of a style change before releasing their debut full-length under the Universal Records umbrella.
FTSK exhibit the typical pop-punk allure, flaunting catchy melodies accompanied by simple (not a bad thing) instrumentation and sing-along choruses. Fortunately, the electronica isn’t over served, but more of a garnish to add some spice to a band that will surely be heaped into an over saturated MTV friendly genre.
“Woah Oh (Me vs. Everyone)”, the album’s first single, gets the disc going by showing off the 3 different vocalist’s ability to contribute some infectious melodies. Though this song doesn’t show off much of their synth-ful side, its quickly understood why Universal Records quickly jumped on the young band’s wagon. Definitely a pop-punk anthem and a highlight of the album, “Woah Oh…” is a no brainer for the album’s opener.
“Hey Brittany” the band’s first ever song, (the original version can be found in a few places) displays more of the bands catchy singing and introduces the electronic drumming and synths that are sprinkled through out the album. This was the song that got the labels calling, and I guess I can see why.
The third track “My Worst Nightmare,” starts with a keyboard played intro that almost made me skip to the next track until the music and vocals come in. This one turns out to be a personal favorite of mine, and the brief trance homage to those early-2000 songs that littered the radio in the latter years of my high school career doesn’t hurt.
“Believe Me I’m Lying” is in my opinion the catchiest song written by the band, though I prefer the EP version waaaayyy over the Album version. The lyrics could rival those of Fall Out Boy’s first album, Take This To Your Grave, with its cheeseball/anti-girl sentiment, but its fun and gets you singing along before you’ve even given it a first listen. Another highlight off Underdog Alma-mater, though I recommend getting the EP version.
“The Way She Moves,” is just another one of those catchy songs delivered, almost effortlessly, by this 6-piece band. It keeps you listening, and right before it feels like its about to drag on, it comes to a close. Fortunately, one of the things the band kept away from was beating a song, or hook, to death. All the songs have had catchy lyrics and vocals to this point, and is basically what the band centers in on through out the rest of the album.
“She’s a Lady” is another track that could be found on the band’s EP, pretty catchy and no wonder why every female I know, with a knack for pop-punk bands, had this on their Myspace page at some point.
“Uh Huh” not a bad song, but maybe one of the ones I’d skip over if I were under some time constraint. Features another cool electronic part (but if you’re looking for more electronic, check out Playradioplay!)
“Phone Call” yet another catchy, up beat song. If you like what you’ve heard, then this is worth a listen, offers one of the better hooks on the album.
“Breakdown” another re-recorded song from the bands previous EP is one of the slower songs heard on the album.
“That For Me” never really does it for me. Not that it lacks or is poorly written, but after a bombardment of catchy powerpop tracks, you could find a better listen amongst the previous tracks.
The only acoustic song found on the album, “Coffee Break” isn’t anything really special. Not that I dislike slow tempos or acoustic music, I’ll probably teach myself the guitar parts at some point. If you are typically drawn to slower music than this would actually be a great listen. Though it is a slightly different genre, the song reminds me of a slightly weaker “On My Own” by The Used.
The album closes with “Catastrophe,” maybe my favorite of the non-re-recorded songs. More of the same catchy singing, but it just happens to work a little better than some of the others.
This album definitely will not appeal to anyone searching for life altering lyrics, or classic musician ship, but if you’re just looking for something fun to listen to and something to get you singing along (maybe for a road trip) than this is definitely a good pick up. If you’re like some of the people I know and just refuse to listen to albums in full (or in order) tracks 1, 4, 8, and 12 would be the songs to sample. Sneak “My Worst Nightmare” in if you can, if nothing more than for the short nostalgic trance insert.
