Band: Family Force 5
Album: Dance or Die
Genre: Dance Rock
Label: None/EMI Distribution

Tracks:
1. Dance or Die
2. Get Your Back Off the Wall
3. Rip it Up
4. How in the World
5. Fever
6. Party Foul
7. D-I-E 4 Y-O-U
8. Share it With Me
9. The First Time
10. Wake The Dead
11. Radiator
America, nay, WORLD, grab your dancing shoes and head to your local record store [on August 19th] and get ready to move until your feet hurt. Family Force 5’s new record, Dance or Die, is about to come out and you will want to get this album because I don’t see how any party could be complete without it. Gone are the days of a band trying to find their sound through everything from hip hop to scream laced rock; Family Force 5 have returned with a new full length album that is synth heavy and dance rock themed to the core. Not only did the band find their sound, they found a goldmine that you may not even be able to comprehend until it drops, but allow me to tease your musical taste buds just a bit.

The title is our first stop on the musical journey and from the 15 second mark on you feel as if you’ve been thrown into the late 80’s dance scene. The synth has a very heavy throwback feel and the simple pacing of the vocals reminds one of Prince during his glory days, but with more emphasis on dancing than sex, which works quite well for the band. Soul Glow Activator, the lead vocalist, uses multiple effects on the album, but his voice is strong regardless and the addition of Crouton on the pre-chorus high parts is just wonderful. If John Hughes were to remake Pretty in Pink in 2009, this would be what played at the prom when we first see Molly Ringwald.As the song fades out, we are thrown into the new millennium with, “Get Your Back Off the Wall,” which plays like the latest club anthem from Timbaland, only with more rock. Fans of the song, “Earthquake,” will most likely find that old love replaced with this track. Activator even brings back his hardcore ready screams, but the band places them so delicately that you never feel the desire to stop dancing and begin moshing, you simply desire to move faster. With all this heavy dance rock, you’d think the band would give you some breathing room, but they take their sound to a whole new level with the dance theme love song, “Rip it Up.” The band, lyrically, isn’t covering much new ground, but rather telling similar love stories in a new way and it works terrifically. The band has found away to evolve that will most likely cause them to lose absolutely no prior fans while opening themselves to a whole new world of listeners.

“How in The World,” will make girls swoon while keeping the pace high and then, “fever,” will bring the fellas back into the album with a truly club ready rock track. There’s a computerized vocal section much like, Stronger,” from Daft Punk that I can’t imagine top 40 radios being able to turn away from. The whole band sounds very tight and strong, but you also get a feeling that they love what they’re doing and that translates through the speakers. At this point I found my two new favorite songs, “Party Foul,” which uses a lot of vocal effects and high hat, and, “D-I-E 4 Y-O-U,” a heavier rocker with a more faith based theme. “Foul,” takes place in a house party with the band telling boys to step off their girlfriends and has a funk laced bass line that doesn’t allow you to remain still while it plays. “D-I-E 4 Y-O-U,” on the other hand, is very rock heavy [though there are still hand claps]. Activator, as with the rest of the band, have heavy vocal effects, but regardless of how they choose to make themselves sound, the song is possibly the catchiest thing I’ve ever heard. The chorus, if you couldn’t tell, involves spelling out die 4 you and is crowd ready. So, when these boys rol through your town [they never seem to not be touring], make sure you know at least this song.

Soul Glow takes a vocal backseat on, “Share it With Me,” so that Phatty can take lead vocal duties. This song sounds like a boy band throwback, but with better music and it succeeds at having a high swoon factor. It’s not as upbeat as the rest of the album, but hey, girls love a slow jam, so embrace it. “The First Time,” then comes in to play the part of the driving rock track, but doesn’t hit as well as the surrounding tracks. “Wake the Dead,” brings the rock full force for one last major rock dance party before we reach the closer, “Radiator.” This track let’s FF5 go out with a huge bang as the band plays a solid fist pumping rock song that will leave you gasping for air and rubbing your feet from dancing too much.

Where Business Up Front, Party in The Back introduced the world to the musical antics of Family Force 5, Dance Or Die showcases the talented musicians who’ve grown, but still have a ton of fun. The first time I finished listening to Dance or Die I honestly sat down and said, “whoa.” That’s it, just, “whoa.” This album is going to define their careers and make all the other dance rock bands that have cropped up shake in their shoes. Family Force 5 were quickly written of by elitists in the music scene, but with Dance of Die they prove they aren’t going anywhere for quite awhile and while their here, we’re going to dance until our hearts explode.

*Written By: James Shotwell*
GRADE: 9.5/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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