Ever since their debut in 1995 The Aquabats have been known as a ska band with outrageous lyrics and an even more outrageous live show. But with their newest and release, Charge!!, they have branched away from their ska roots, ditching their horn section entirely. To compensate for this, many of the tracks on the album have an obvious electronic influence, using a keyboard or synthesizer. They have also exprerimented with many different musical genres, drawing influence from those genres, and making an entirely unique new sound.
Charge!! starts off with the six-second track, Now Stand Back, For Your Own Safety!. Its not really a track, it really doesn't have anything to do with the album, but its good for a six-second listen anyway. From there its on to the album's first real track, Fashion Zombies!. The song starts off with a dark sounding bass melody and a very interestion drum part. From the dark intro, its straight into an fast tempo, upbeat guitar riff and then the song begins in full swing. It sounds to me as if The Aquabats took a playful stab a horrorpunk in Fashion Zombies. Its clearly not full blown horrorpunk but it does have some elements of it, especially halfway through the song when the singing stops and a Dracula-esque monolouge begins.
The next track is Stuck In a Movie!, and is the only song where i can hear even a trace of ska left in The Aquabats' music. This trace of ska is not in a obvious form with a trombone or something like that, but is within the broken guitar part in the verse of the song. Though the ska influence is small, Stuck In a Movie! is the first track on the album where electronic influence clearly manifests itself, in the form a complex keyboard melody during the chorus. After the upbeat Stuck in a Movie!, is the even more upbeat Tiger Rider vs. The Time Sprinkler!. Don't let the name fool you, it's a very serious track, not lyrically of course, but as far as composing and musicianship goes, its one of the best on the album. Lyrically, it reminds me of a Dungeons and Dragons convention gone horribly wrong. Its also one of the few tracks on the album where I can't really tell what theinfluence is. It has its own unique sound. The verse uses a heavily distorted guitar riff and aggressive vocals. From there its on to the bridge, which has a riff which i guess reminds me just a little bit of surf music. Then the Chorus, which has a highly unique sound unlike any other music I've heard. Its half aggressive, half mellow, then uses both very low vocal notes and very high notes simultaneously. Its very hard to describe, but trust me, it's a unlike any other music i know.
Next is Nerd Alert!, a nice track with funny lyrics. It starts off with a very dorky sounding keyboard intro, very fitting considering the name of the song, then the guitar and bass come in, playing variations of the same melody. There's really unique or special about the song other than the fact that it's a branch away from the ska style of The Aquabats' past. Its not the best track on the album by a long shot, but its good for a listen, especially the lyrics. The next track is Plastic Lips!, a pop punkish track that reminds me a little bit of The B-52's. It starts off with an energetic guitar part and goes to an equally energetic pop punk sounding verse, complete with "Whoa's" in the background and all. In addition to drawing influence from pop punk it also seems to be the track on the album that rocks the hardest.
From a pop punk influence to a classic rock influence, the next track, Look at me (I'm a Winner)! uses heavy classic rock riffs, but still maintains a unique Aquabats sound, making it yet another track that really doesn't sound like any other genre of music. The next song, Hot Summer Nights (Won't Last Forever)!, has the funniest lyrics of the album, making it an instant classic. Though the lyrics are funny, they're also just a bit sad, about a boy who is abbsessed with a girl who has no interest whatsoever in him. Despite the slightly sad lyrical premis, musically the song is quite upbeat and happy. It has a popish verse, a popish chorus, heck its a pretty popish track all around, but easily one of the best on the album.
The next track Meltdown!, draws its influence from both punk and new wave music. Note the synthesizer, which is more obvious on Meltdown!, than on any other track on the album. Like Nerd Alert!, this track isn't one of my favorites, but is still an important par on the cohesive album. After Meltdown!, comes Mechanical Ape!, another track that reminds me of The B-52's. Its a very strange track. during the verses, background vocalists can be heard making monkey sounds, which I guess fits the lyrical idea of the song, but its still really weird.
The next song is my personal favorite on the album, Demolition Rickshaw!. It has a very strange name and even stranger lyrics. I couldn't even begin to tell you what it is lyrically about, but I can tell you that it is musically amazing. One thing this track shares with Meltdown!, is that the synth and electronic influence are very obvious, especially during the verse. It starts off with a very poppy guitar intro. Then it goes straight to the verse, which has a very wavy vocal style and an even more wavy synth melody in the background. Then its on to the chorus, which uses the same guitar riff as heard in the intro. About halfway through the track all sound ceases for a second, after which time a very quiet and solitary guitar part sounds, thgen vocals, then bass, then more vocals, and so on until it builds back into the loud chorus. Demolition Rickshaw! is by far my favorite track on the album, and one of my favorite songs in general.
The next track, Waterslides!, is my second favorite on the disc and draws its influence from reggae music. It has a very quiet verse, and a loud yet relaxing chorus. There's really not too much to say about it other than that its a great track. The next and final track is Awesome Forces!, the track that I like to call 'The Aquabats tribute to themselves.' Like other tracks the album it contains funny lyics and an energetic keyboard part. Its not really a great song per say, but it is a great way to end the album.
Charge!!, was The Aquabats first full length album in six years, and it delivers a new sound from The Aquabats. They've branched away from their ska roots and created an innovative new sound, drawing influence from all different types of music, and even using electronic sounds. Fans of the older Aquabats might shun this album because it isn't the ska that the old albums contained. I think, however, thet Charge!! is the best album that The Aquabats have ever released. They proved that they can literally take any style of music and make it their own. Excelent album. 4/5
