Fandangle give us thunderbolts and lightening…
Fandangle who comprise of 8 band members, are classic Ska/Punk in the vein of bands like Less Than Jake, Streetlight Manifesto, King Prawn and Jesse James, and with ‘Fly Away’ have a good solid album filled with 15 bouncy fast-paced tracks. Featuring members of Green Day, Less Than Jake, Zebrahead and Reel Big Fish, there is the added clout from the genre too, proving that the band aren’t just one of the ‘also-rans’.
At a push the album is very much like Less Than Jake insomuch as there aren’t too many weak songs but also there aren’t too many instantly great songs, however with that said, the rest of the songs are all good in their own right. ‘Once Over’ and the drug-influenced, ‘I’m High’ could have been Less Than Jake, whereas the great, ‘Sit Back, Just Relax’ is more like Streetlight Manifesto. Then interestingly, ‘Oliver Twist’ is a little more Reel Big Fish, and features Aaron Barrett and Ryland Steen of the aforementioned band, proving how influential individuals can be.
The thing with Ska/Punk is that it can sometimes be hit and miss, especially with English bands. There can be a tendency to have too many cooks in the musician department spoiling the proverbial broth, which can either give the sound a mixed and busy sound, or watered down without much melody. Fandangle seem to understand this and therefore give some great hard hitting and thoughtful songs. ‘Hello Goodbye’ is a great bouncy track with an anthem feel, switching from happy brass section to chunky guitar riffs seamlessly. We then have the darker and more punky, ‘Homeland Security’, before one of the best songs on here, ‘Figure It Out’ that along with the other fantastically rocking, ‘Bones’ is a little bit Zebrahead mixing Pop/Punk with Ska quite nicely.
The interestingly titled, ‘Pornstars (Aren’t For Everyone’ is a little more like Jesse James, whereas you cannot deny the similarities with Less Than Jake again for ‘It Came To This’, ‘Laws Of Gravity’ and the nice closing song, ‘At Least I Tried’.
This genre can be split many ways. There are the likes of the more Reggae influenced Punk of Reel Big Fish, and then more 2-Tone with Tim Armstrong’s solo effort. For straight up Punk/Ska you cannot beat Streetlight Manifesto, with the likes of Less Than Jake and Fandangle following closely behind. Fandangle have released 6 successful EP’s, and with ‘Fly Away’ they have a great follow up album to their debut, ‘The Emperor Still Wears No Clothes’ in 2003 (although ‘Fly Away’ is considered their official debut). I have to keep looking to see whether they are British, but yes, they are!
Having shared the stage with, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Sonic Boom Six, Spunge, Capdown, Adequate 7, Allister, Zebrahead, Big D & The Kids Table and King Prawn then they are certainly getting out there in front of the fans that will love this. Besides being the best Ska/Punk currently in Britain, I’d say that this is one of the better Ska/Punk albums of the year! Great stuff!