Family Force 5 Album Review: 'III'

Original article on the Christian Post

"Family Force 5 is a party that makes you shake your donk," said FF5 lead singer Soul Glow Activatur, and now that the album has been reviewed, his statement is absolutely correct.

FF5's new album III is a fantastic journey through the innovative musical minds of crunk rock pioneers that paved the way for artists like LMFAO and 3OH!3. 

The music is a fusion of the beats and sounds of southern rock mixed with almost hip-hop sang/rapped vocals over trippy 808s and heavy guitar riffs. 

There is literally no genre of music the band does not dip into, even having a bluesy and reggae type mash-up.

Family Force 5 is one part Kid Rock and Lil Jon mixed with Kanye West's '808s and Heartbreaks' and Gym Class Heroes, or as the band refers to themselves, "Ghetto redneck music."

The album opens up with strong with "Can You Feel It." This song is very aggressive and sort of proves to be the anthem of the album. It's kind of like TobyMac circa Momentum days but still has its own flare.

The next song, "Paycheck," has a "swaggerful" like flow to it as part of the chorus says, "Shoulda been a baller, shot caller," then brings it back to a funny perspective saying, "Now I thank God for the hand out..." This song is extremely catchy. 

Singer, Soul Glow, says this is his favorite song. He explains, "People think it's political, but everyone seems to be having financial hardships. We wanted to write something people can relate to and have something to say, you know, dig deep and make it sound real." 

Track three, "Wobble," is already a fan favorite at live shows according to Soul Glow. It's an infectious dance tune meant to get crowds moving. The song is a half reggae/dance and half dance party moves song. 

The next song, "You Got It," is reminiscent of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" with its funky bluesy groove and even tone as the singer expresses his love for a girl. This is a slow relaxing track.

Where "You Got It," leaves off, "Mamacita" picks up. The song is essentially the Latin sounding continuation of the previous song. It carries on from the spark found in "You Got It." Naturally it's more danceable and has a brilliant chorus with the best part repeating saying, "You got me loco saying Ay Yi Yi."

"Tank Top" brings in the pulsing 808 beats and deep synths as they bring in a fun strictly club like song. Definitely a song that would be played on a pop/rap station.

The next song, "Not Alone," is by far the most serious and deep song on the album. It really shows off the bands song writing ability and proves that sometimes life isn't always a party. The singer calls out to God for His touch singing, "I need you now, I want you now/To tell me that you're not alone."

Returning to true crunk rock form, "Dang Girl," brings their signature feel back. The vocals are over the top and contain a southern gritty rap flare to them. It's the club "banger" of the album with an amazing synth breakdown transition at the end.

Perhaps the best radio single on the CD is, "Love Gone Wrong." It's a super catchy song with an even stronger sing-along hook. This song is about the perfect girl from the singer's point of view.

The last song on the record is appropriately titled "Get On Outta Here." This song features the most rap on the album, and it proves to be an angry but fun send off dismissing all the haters.

Soul Glow said the song was the "anti-hater anthem of the batch" and they "wrote it with that in mind to be more personal."

The vocalist describes the bands unique sound as, "Fun party inspired rock. Some think it has to do with synthesizers. I guess so...we have plenty of 808 beats too." He goes on to explain crunk rock as being "very southern."

"It's what we are. We kind of just fell into it. We are from Atlanta, it's very southern. We have that rock vibe, and that super ghetto vibe. It's a blend of everything."

FF5 released III on Oct. 18 and in promotion have embarked on their It's All Gold Tour followed by a short Christmas tour. In January and February they will be heading back to the studio to record a few more tracks for their deluxe edition of the new album, calling the addition, 3.5.