Band: Family Force 5
Title: Dance Or Die
Label: Transparent Media Group/Tooth & Nail
Release Date: 8/19/2008
Review By: JoshIVM
Tracklisting:
01. Dance Or Die
02. Get Your Back Off The Wall
03. Rip It Up
04. How In The World
05. Fever
06. Party Foul
07. D-I-E 4 Y-O-U
08. Share It With Me
09. The First Time
10. Wake The Dead
11. Radiator
Family Force 5 have returned with a new album after releasing and touring on thier very successful debut album Business Up Front, Party In The Back. The band had some great exposure on huge tours like Warped and with this new album I expect them to branch out on even better tours through the next year. No longer on Gotee, the band is working through their own creation Transparent Media Group as well as being partnered with Tooth & Nail/EMI. There are sure plenty of positives for the band going on right now, but there is also the inherent danger of a sophmore slump.
You will soon notice the Family opted for a far more danceable creation and left behind their rap/rop/dance hybrid that people came to love. If you listen to their debut you can see they followed the pattern set by “Drama Queen” and “Lose Urself” and created an album completely in that arena. This album has plenty of potential hit songs in that vein, even some calmer ballad-like tracks like “How In The World“.
The first track, “Dance Or Die” fades in with some 80’s synth and the beat drops in and begins thump behind it. Within a few bars I was totally into the song! I recently picked up the album and took it with me on a trip to visit some friends. The same thing occurred with them. They were hooked within a few lines. “Get Your Back Off The Wall” is one of my favorite tracks on the disc. With the distorted vocals at the outset, the catchy dance rock, and even some screams, it’s another solid track. “How In The World” is one of the quieter tracks. They left behind the dance but kept all of the catchiness. This is a song the pop world could fall in love with. “Fever” will have your speakers pumping again. I really enjoyed the pounding rhythms and the easy-to-sing-along lyrics in this song! “Radiator” reminded me of Katy Perry’s hit musically, though it will not get to that level of popularity. “Share It With Me” sounds like a single that could have come from any number of current R&B singers.
Overall: Dance Or Die isn’t the album for everyone and undoubtedly they will lose some fans, however, overall I think this album will do quite well in both Christian and mainstream circles. They will continue to grow through word of mouth and their live shows as well. The band has bettered their sound and even I was surprised at the quality of songs throughout this disc. There is no doubt that Dance Or Die will be spending quite a bit of time blasting through my speakers and headphones! What are you waiting for? Go get this album and dance along!
Standout Tracks: “Get Your Back Off The Wall”, “Share It With Me”, “The First Time”
Links:
Website
Myspace
Tooth & Nail
Buy: Parable Christian @ $7.97