On The Record: Reel Big Fish, "Candy Coated Fury"

It seems like the 90s are all coming back in full force these days.  Hell, why not bring in a ska album?  Ska is dead?  Not quite, as luck would have it.  Being a trombone player, I've been a huge ska fan for years, and, when I found out my boys in Reel Big Fish were coming out with a new album -- the first in three years -- I was excited!

"Candy Coated Fury", the first original album they've put out since 2007's "Monkeys For Nothin' and the Chimps For Free", shows the band in a stunning return to form.  Originally, I thought the album couldn't possibly be as good as the others with the recent absence of Scott Klopfenstein, the band's main trumpet player and harmony vocalist (think of him as Paul McCartney to lead vocalist and main songwriter Aaron Barrett's John Lennon).  After hearing this album, I realize that Reel Big Fish is all Barrett and whoever he wants as his backing band.

New harmony vocalist and saxophone player Matt Appleton (the first sax player the band has had since their debut album "Everything Sucks"), formerly of Goldfinger, is displayed very well on this album on such tracks as "Don't Let Me Down Gently" (a cover from The Wonder Stuff) and the instrumental track "Don't Stop Skankin'", which predominantly features Appleton on the baritone sax.  He fits in perfectly where Klopfenstein had left a hole in the band.  It's like he was there the entire time, and the band never skips a beat.

Reel Big Fish couldn't be better here.  Aaron Barrett's angry, sardonic lyrics continue to match perfectly with the rest of the band's SoCal party music to create fun, often hilarious tracks that will have you dancing and singing along...even when the lyrics are "I try to live my life, but everyone else is an asshole".  And yes, the song is called "Everyone Else Is An Asshole".  

Much like the classic RBF song "She Has A Girlfriend Now", the track "I Know You Too Well To Like You Anymore" is a fast-paced duet about a failed relationship, this time with Julie Stoyer from the up-and-coming band Dick and Jane.  This song is a blast to listen to, even when the lyrics are scathing on both sides of the relationship.  "You're a slut/you're a dick/you're a whore/you're a prick/you make me fucking sick...but I love you".  If you think I'm joking, listen to the album.  Truly classic RBF, indeed.

Of course there are the other ten tracks here, from the reggae-themed "Hiding In My Headphones" (which features Laila K and Barney Boom from the band Sonic Boom Six and Coolie Ranx, who showed up on their 2002 album "Cheer Up!"), the anti-relationship song "Your Girlfriend Sucks", to the stronger-than-you-think-I-am anthem "I Dare You To Break My Heart".  All the songs are superb in the whole 55 minutes this album is running.  

Even if you don't like ska, Reel Big Fish's album "Candy Coated Fury" is still a wonderful album for angry songs to dance and sing to.  The sarcastic lyrics mixed with the upbeat tone of the music will keep you happy  long after the album is done.  Even if it makes you happy simply based on the fact you're better off than the poor schmuck in the lyrics.