Record Label: None
Genre: Ska Punk
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

I was all but ready to accept what I had received from the last two Reel Big Fish albums…disappointment. Honestly, they haven’t released a solid album since “Turn The Radio Off” which came out way back when ska music ruled the airwaves. I’m sure that most people don’t even remember that time with your Fall Out Boy and Jennifer Lopez and probably think that I’m insane, but it did happen. Honest. Sure, they had some good songs off of the past few albums but they ended up being cover songs anyway (Story Of My Life, Boss DJ, Talkin’ Bout A Revolution). “Why Do They Rock So Hard?” was pretty good but had too many annoying songs that I just didn’t want to listen to that much. It’s sad to say, but the best thing that has come out Reel Big Fish related in the past eight years was the Forces of Evil album. That sounded more like a Reel Big Fish album than any Reel Big Fish album of this century. So, here they are with another album to listen to once and then file away with Disturbed and No Doubt in the “never gonna listen to again” pile. But wait…what is this that I hear? Could it be that this album is good? Could it be the Reel Big Fish album that everyone has been wanting since “Turn The Radio Off”? Good god o’ mighty it is!!!

The first thing that caught my ear with “Monkeys For Nothin'” was that it sounded real. (No pun intended) Just the sound of the album from the first song, “Party Down” which sounds a lot like something from “Cheer Up” to the punkier “Another F.U. Song” which would fit right in between “Nothin” and “Say Ten”, “Monkeys For Nothin'” puts you in the mood to dance around much like you would at an RBF show. The rock sound, when it shows up which isn’t very much, doesn’t seem forced like it did before and the ska, which shows up in almost every song and feels more organic than it ever has, appears in every way, shape and form. “Slow Down” is a straight up ska song that sounds like what Less Than Jake did with “The Science Of Selling Yourself Short”. “Another Day In Paradise” is a perfect third-wave ska song with fast drums, loud horns and upstrokes galore. Reel Big Fish even went as far as to re-record some of their earlier songs with “Hate You”, “Call You” and one of my all-time favorite RBF songs, “Why Do All Girls Think They’re Fat?”. Those songs now sound as good as the other songs that they re-recorded for “Turn The Radio Off”.

Everything about “Monkeys For Nothin’ And The Chimps For Free” rocks my face. I never thought that I would use that term again when referring to a Reel Big Fish album, but holy high hell, this is one good album. It sounds more real and down to earth than what the Fish have produced in the past few years. I hope they never find a record label if everything they do from now on in sounds as awesome as this.

Bottom Line: The ska punk icons are back with their best album in years, hands down.
Notable Tracks: Slow Down, Everybody’s Drunk, Why Do All Girls Think They’re Fat?, Will The Revolution Come?, Til I Hit The Ground
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