Charge!!
Charge!! is the fifth studio album by American band The Aquabats, released on June 7, 2005 on Nitro Records.
Album overview
The album was very similar in sound to the previous year's EP, Yo, Check Out This Ride!. Sonically, the band had lost nearly all of the horn sounds from earlier albums. Virtually all of the songs are backed by an electronic melody, and the album is overall the most guitar-heavy one in their catalog.
The album was released to a very positive reaction from fans. The first song, "Fashion Zombies!" had been released two months earlier for download on the band's website. Copies also appeared on peer-to-peer file sharing networks about a month prior to the official release, much to the band's dismay. Some copies of the album were released without the promised trading cards. It is unclear whether this was a packaging error or whether the cards were only for certain markets.
Charge!! (Special One-Year Anniversary Edition)
In June 2006, The Aquabats released a "one-year anniversary" re-issue of Charge!! featuring three previously unreleased bonus tracks, a DVD and new album art by artist Brandon Bird. Printed in limited run, the re-issue was made available only through the band's website and live shows.
DVD contents
- "How About CHARGE??", a 45-minute documentary on the making of Charge!!.
- "Fashon Zombies!" music video, with optional audio commentary from The Aquabats.
- "The Making of 'Fashion Zombies!'" featurette.
- "Charge!! Photoshoot", behind-the-scenes footage.
- Charge!! internet teaser trailers.
- Trading card photo gallery.
Reception
Critical reaction to Charge!! focused on The Aquabats' shift from their previous ska sound to a style more rooted in New Wave and pop. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic gave the album four stars out of five, remarking that the band had "refocused its musical and ideological attack" during the six years since their previous studio album The Aquabats vs. the Floating Eye of Death!: "Intact are the pop references, zany in-jokes, and Batman villain fetishism ... But Charge!! is much more rewarding musically. It doesn't loiter awkwardly between punk, pop, ska, and broad humor — it keeps the pressure on with a catchy guitar- and keyboard-driven blend of anthemic choruses and appropriately squawky elements."[1] An IGN review noted the band's shift from the ska sound of their earlier records to a New Wave style: "Charge!! is not a ska album. The Aquabats have dispensed with the brass section this time around, electing to replace it with a Wall o' Synths that'll make you feel as if you've just stepped back into the mid-80s. The neo-new-wave result is superbly effective, especially considering the band's campy, Saturday-morning-cartoon feel."[2]
Tim O'Neil of PopMatters also commented on the band's change of style, commenting that "The Aquabats' current strategic manifesto bears a strong resemblance to some of No Doubt's great late-period tactical accomplishments, especially on portions pertaining to the plague of 'Fashion Zombies!' and the propaganda manifesto 'Look at Me, I’m a Winner!' Ironically, considering their near wholesale abandonment of the [ska] strategy, the greatest victory on Charge!! comes on the only battle to utilize the almost totally discredited Ska Force to full effect, the ebullient 'Waterslides!'"[3] Jesse Raub of Punknews.org remarked that "If someone would have told me five years ago that the Aquabats were going to become a new-wave/punk band, I would have laughed in their face ... There is a huge 80's influence, there is a huge California influence, there is a huge punk influence. And somehow it all blends into an album that isn't too far removed from pop-punk."[4]
Track listing
All songs written by The Aquabats.
| 1. |
"Now, Stand Back for Your Own Safety!" |
0:06 |
| 2. |
"Fashion Zombies!" |
3:16 |
| 3. |
"Stuck in a Movie!" |
2:48 |
| 4. |
"Tiger Rider vs. the Time Sprinkler!" |
2:25 |
| 5. |
"Nerd Alert!" |
3:14 |
| 6. |
"Plastic Lips!" |
2:42 |
| 7. |
"Look at Me (I'm a Winner)!" |
3:35 |
| 8. |
"Hot Summer Nights (Won't Last Forever)!" |
3:49 |
| 9. |
"Meltdown!" |
3:38 |
| 10. |
"Mechanical Ape!" |
3:06 |
| 11. |
"Demolition Rickshaw!" |
3:14 |
| 12. |
"Waterslides!" |
3:48 |
| 13. |
"Awesome Forces!" |
2:51 |
| 14. |
"Cheeseburger Politics!" |
2:45 |
| 15. |
"Video Nite!" |
2:56 |
| 16. |
"Hi-Five City!" |
2:48 |
Charts
Personnel
The Aquabats
Production
References