I’m a big fan of the Fish. I’ve seen them in concert about seven times, and I’ve bought every one of their CDs to date, be it both studio and live releases. They dropped a new album just recently and it’s been getting a lot of buzz, which is understandable since the band hasn’t released a real original song since the summer of 2007. Is this new album worth it? You decide. Here’s my ten-words-or-less-per-song review!

"Candy Coated Fury" Album Art

1. Everyone Else Is an Asshole– Pretty okay. Repetitive and the lyrics are lacking.
2. Punisher– Freaking great! One of the album’s highlights.
3. She’s Not the End of the World– Oi. Holy repetition, Batman. Just okay.
4. Don’t Let Me Down Gently– Loved it until I discovered it was another cover. Good.
5. I Know You Too Well to Like You Anymore– Mixed feelings. It’s a fun tune!
6. Hiding in My Headphones– Low point of the record. Fun horn breakdown, I guess.
7. I Dare You to Break My Heart– Pretty good! I could see this one growing on me.
8. Your Girlfriend Sucks– Pretty cool. Feels like old RBF, with worse lyrics.
9. Don’t Stop Skanking– I love this one! Great instrumental. Dat bari!
10. Famous Last Words– Great track, very well written. I love it!
11. Lost Cause– Good. Gets stuck in your head.
12. I Love/You Suck– Pretty fun track.
13. P.S. I Hate You– Very okay, leaning towards goodish.
14. The Promise– One of their best covers, best song on the album!

Reel Big Fish can write horn lines still, but man, where did they get these lyrics from? The only songs that had legitimately good lyrics were the two covers and “Famous Last Words”. Sure, the Fish were never known for their lyrical prowess, but some of the rhyme schemes and word choices were just a little lacking compared to the past.

Reel Big Fish have certainly had some better albums, but this release just disappoints me. Things just feel a tiny bit different, and not in a good way. Sure, it sucked when Scott left the band, but it’s not just their sound that’s changed. I feel like all of these songs are written the exact same way. None of the forms, tempos, or styles go anywhere exciting or new. It feels like they played this album very close to the vest, which is odd since the band has called it their “best album yet.” Is this what people want from Reel Big Fish after most of their releases this decade have been a live album set, a “best of”, an acoustic album of old tunes, and a covers album? Sure they squeezed in “Monkeys For Nothin’ And the Chimps For Free”, but half of that album was full of old songs that they rerecorded!

5 out of 6 people agree that this shirt is hideous

I guess I’m just bummed that Reel Big Fish haven’t done anything too original lately other than add a tenor sax player to their lineup. And yes, I am very bitter that I was not the tenor sax player to be chosen (In about eighth grade I sent Aaron Barrett a MySpace message that they should let me be the tenor sax player in their band. He responded with, “Our people will talk to your people!” Unfortunately I forgot to leave my contact info and couldn’t have them follow up when looking for a new member. Well, maybe in another life, you know?). But after having hyped this album up for over a year, I was expecting better. Not only that, but the band promised “all original songs” (I’m guessing to shut up the people that gave them crap about rereleases of rereleases and an all covers album) and the album has two covers on them. Not only that, one of those covers finishes the album! Sure, it’s one of their best and most interesting choices in a while, but really? The final song on the “all original album” you’ve been hyping for far too long.

Final Word: This album has its moments, and even those are just moments, not full songs. I’d recommend buying “Don’t Stop Skanking”, “Punisher”, and “The Promise”, and then checking out one of their earlier studio albums. It’s good, but certainly not the big comeback many of us were hoping for. Maybe pick up their Best-Of if you don’t have much of them in your collection.