Dance or Die

Solomon Olds (Soul Glow Activatur) - Lead Vocals/Guitar

Jacob Olds (Crouton) - drums/vocals

Joshua Olds (Fatty) - Bass/vocals

Nathan Currin (Nadaddy) - Keytar/Family Force 5000 Machine of Death/Turntables/vocals/Hardcore Tambourine/percussion

Derek Mount (Chap Stique) - Lead Guitar

Xanadu - Stage Dancer and Helping Hand

            The funky crunk rock band from Atlanta, Georgia hits stores with their second full length album. Back in 2006 the band, consisting of 3 brothers, released their debut album under the name Family Force 5. The album Business Up Front, Party In The Back brought a funk multi-genre sound that brought fans screaming towards them. After many festivals like Warp Tour, Alive, and Creation festival, they have increased their fan base 10 fold. With the new album Dance or Die hitting stores in the summer of ’08 the band will be playing another Warp Tour when the album drops. The album begins with the title track “Dance or Die.” It’s an odd track that is extremely catch and makes you want to well….Dance. The funky sound of the track intrigues you as well as the flying vocals. There are so many different effects on the vocals as well as different members singing. I seen them on this years Warp Tour and was surprised by all antics on stage and this track backs it up if you have never seen them live. “Get Your Back Off the Wall” is infused with multiple beats including, rap, hip hop, and hard rock beats. It even offers some screams as it seems to double as a rebel, revolting track. “Rip It Up” is a pure dance track that has glimpses of punk sprinkled in for good measure, but mainly just gets you jumping up and down even if you are just chilling in your seat. “How in the World” is another beat driven track with claps and a pinch of seriousness. “Fever” is a bit harder with fun and fancy sounding effects. The track is one of the better on the album, but it is still infused with a high dose synths. They also place a nice guitar slide right smack in the middle of the song. “Party Fool” you can really hear the drums. Its hard pounding really intensifies the track in the middle of them bitching at another guy for talking to their girl. “D-I-E 4 Y-O-U” sits in the lucky number seven hole of the album. The track begins as a hard rock track with soaring guitars and a hard drum beat, but they quickly turn it funky with a weird beat and weird vocals. It’s actually a pretty cool track if you slow it down in your head and really listen to it. “Share it with Me” is a key driven track that slows it down a bit. The track is a very nice piece of work that is so much more grounded and serious than the rest of the album before. “The First Time” is another great track. It doesn’t have too many effects and sounds on it. It’s a straight-up track that you don’t get all those extras with, but after hearing so many of them already this is a refreshing sound. “Wake the Dead” goes back to all the effects and extras after 2 tracks that they were absent in. It’s still a pretty cool sounding track. The track like I said has some effects, but not like the first part of the album. It’s a very easy track to listen and is surprising good. The album ends with the track “Radiator.” It’s a darker sounding track and like “Wake the Dead” doesn’t have too many effects in it. It’s a solid ending to a strange ride that is Dance or Die. Overall the album is in the middle of the pack. I have to be honest about the different sides of the album. The album begins was fun and funky, but I don’t think that is would fit well on the airwaves or attract new listeners. The later part of the album really digs deep and brings the album back up to okay status. For me the album is a skip through with a stop hear and there until track 8. If it wasn’t for those last 4 tracks the album wouldn’t be very good.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My favorite tracks:

Fever, D-I-E 4 Y-O-U, Share it with Me

Track List:

1.      Dance or Die

2.      Get Your Back Off the Wall

3.      Rip it Up

4.      How in the World

5.      Fever

6.      Party Fool

7.      D-I-E 4 Y-O-U

8.      Share it with Me

9.      The First Time

10.  Wake the Dead

11.  Radiator

Website (s): www.familyforce5.com