Five Iron Frenzy
It's Funny... but not very creative.
Reviewed by cyanide
Although Five Iron Frenzy has recently signed to 5 Minute Walk Records, the Denver-based ska-core band is definitely not an unknown, having shared the stage with other popular ska bands including Less Than Jake and Mephiskapheles. Those who've caught 5FE's live shows in the past or at the ska explosion at Cornerstone '96 will be glad to hear some of their energy captured on the 7" EP It's funny...but not very creative. The music is full of ska-core's signature power riffs, manic brass section, and good humor, but this is not to say that 5FE is the same old standby. "A Flowery Song", the opening cut, combines fun and lightheartedness to church out a skankin' praise song, complete with an altered snippet of the old hymn "Praise God from whom all blessings flow". "Third World Think Tank" keeps you on your feet with music you might hear in an old west saloon song--ska-core style, of course--and the band brings you hilarious lyrics like, "slick as snot her spandex and blacker than some coal, she set her gaze upon my bootie with disco in her soul". All too soon, the record ends with a tribute to the reigning queen of CCM, Amy Grant, with the band's "mangled" rendition of "Everywhere I Go". While ska fans await the first full-length release, they can pop this record onto their turntables and enjoy all seven inches of Five Iron Frenzy.