Forever The Sickest Kids' "Underdog Alma Mater" is twelve tracks of energetic, techno, rock, hip hop, pop, fun, well worth the wait. There's three songs from "Television Off, Party On," (which you can check out my reviews of in Issue Sixteen) plus you finally get "Hey Britney" and "Whoa Oh!" is mp3 form.
"Whoa Oh! (Me Vs. Everyone)" is the perfect start to album, it's anthemic, and you'll be singing "WHOA OH, WHOA WHOA OH" regardless of how many times you've heard the song. This song has so many different tempo's and sets you up for the rest of the album. It's a musical warning to brace yourself."
The synth in the opening of "Hey Brittany" is so unbelievable rememberable, even though it's only repeated again at the end. If you have a friend by the name of Brittany, you can't resist singing this song every single time you see her (I’d like to apologize to my vice-president), or if you're like me, the song can turn into "Hey Michael!", "Hey Ashley!", "Hey Chelsea!" It's just that good...
"My Worst Nightmare" is the first song that I hadn't heard before. Like FTSK is prone to do, it crosses over with influences in several genres. The verses actually sounds like a straight up rap. The chorus sounds like it could be played at any rave.
FTSK is one of the only bands that can repeat a chorus or line over and over again and it never gets old, mostly because you don't ever want the song to end. Every song is like the best party you've ever been to, with the best kids you've ever met.
"The Way She Moves" sounds like late 90s pop. You could have turned on TRL in '98 and seen this song at Number 1. It's infectious, and flows. It even has that infamous 90s boy band breakdown, and they hit those impressive notes to go with it, because the amazing music can't overshadow the vocals, add in some claps, then start overlapping some shit. You know you're excited to hear this.
If you think about the premise of "Phone Call" you'll realize it's a bit creepy. "Ninety-seven missed calls, I'll finally get over you." Someone's getting semi-stalked. At least it's a nice song about it (there's even gang vocals!), but this kid can't do anything at all but think about this girl, and call her quite a lot. At least he knows he's losing his mind.
"That For Me" is all over the place. The duel choruses and the verses could all be different songs in terms of lyrics. You think the shit is over after the bridge--no kids! Chorus comes back in one more time to close out the song.
"Coffee Break" is FTSK's ballad. It takes the tempo all the way down, there's no last minute synth or energy pick up. The song really is quite sad. It's about growing up, and having it really suck, neglecting people you shouldn't regret, and not getting enough of what you need. You can get a glimpse at these boys impressive voice for a split, toward the end, that you may not have known was hiding there under the guitars and synth.
You have no idea how excited I was for this album, and how badly I was praying it wouldn't disappoint me. Every single track is good on this album. It'd be more than acceptable to only listen to this album all the way to Warped. It's hard to pick a favorite, because every song is different from the one before. You’re overwhelmed by good and different. Every song has that something that makes it all it own, that thing that will make you dance around regardless of your location.
5 out of 5 [CO]