I think it's weird that the records that keep coming up on my iPod are records I got for review during a very brief period in the 90's when I had a 'zine. Anyway, I remember Fearless Records as a label that only put out authentic punk rock done in a variety of ways; from the rock-and-roll of the Grabbers to the surfiness of Whitekaps to the snottiness of 30footFALL to the metalness of Bigiwg. I remember that I got this to review along with another band I had never heard of called At the Drive-In and I was really fucking confused. I had assumed that Fearless was also jumping on the ska/punk bandwagon, and as a kid who really liked ska/punk I was pretty bummed out to hear no distortion and tons of farfisa organ. And it wasn't recorded very well as far as I was concerned.
Eventually, the Aquabats put out "The Fury..." where they re-recorded a handful of these songs and had two very helpful additions: a better recording studio and Travis Barker. Suddenly there was no denying that this band is genius. Listening back to this record afterwards, it's not bad at all. It's actually pretty good and ACTUALLY it adds a real dimension of charm to hear the Aquabats early stuff; it feels like they were singing about Martian girls and tarantulas because they were nerds, not because they had to be weeeeeird! It's still pretty much a straight up ska record, but where most traditional ska bands reached for the sounds of days of old, The Aquabats were quoting Emilio Estevez and sounding like they were from another fucking planet. After enough time, The Aquabats started experimenting with a lot more styles and really couldn't find a place for ska in their songs anymore, so this album will always hold a special place in my heart. Let's face it, the ska boom was for band-geeks and nothing melts my inner nerd's heart more than a bunch of Mormons putting on day-glo spandex so they can look like superheroes. And naming your first album "Return of..." is always a surefire way of winning full force.
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Yeah, I fucking love the Aquabats. There is a fear of their work being just a shtick, though I was very pleased with the inclusion of a straight-up love song on their last album ("Waterslides!") which featured a reggae vibe that became neither a Kingston-goes-MTV pop romp or a "let's affect a fake Jamaican accent to be goofy."
My favorite song of theirs, "Hey Luno!," is off their b-sides album that was a really solid collection. I know "Hey Luno!" is about some tv show I wasn't old enough to have watched, but the passion makes me feel that the song might have a deeper meaning. But I won't look too deep.
Return had infectious energy and charm, but it wasn't until Fury that the songs became memorable, though there are a few forgettable tracks on that one as well. I listen to "Red Sweater!" and "The Story of Nothing!" pretty regularly. "Red Sweater!" is perhaps a perfect Third Wave ska song, even if the 'bats tended to pogo more than skank their guitar. Who cares, it sounds great.
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