Reel Big Fish – We’re Not Happy Til You’re Not Happy

It’s been a long time in the making, too long in fact, but Reel Big Fish‘s triumphant return to the ska scene is well worth the three year wait. And although 2002’s Cheer Up! was laced with weak tracks, We’re Not Happy ‘Til You’re Not Happy takes all of the positives aspects of that album and multiplies them ten fold.

Keeping true to Reel Big Fish tradition, We’re Not Happy ‘Til You’re Not Happy is full of fun, skank inducing sarcastic ska songs. For a follow up to their widely popular Beer, they have the song Drinkin’. Then album also comes along with cover songs from Tracy Chapman (Talking ‘Bout A Revolution),Morrissey (We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful) and Social Distortion‘s Story Of My Life. And of course, they have the always “positive” songs like Don’t Start A Band, Say Goodbye, The Bad Guy, Turn The Radio Off and last, but definitely not least, the fist pumping Your Guts (I Hate ‘Em) which sports classy lyrics like “I wrote this song about, just to let you know that I hate your guts, and I think you suck. This is your song, congratulations! You’re the inspiration, I hate you so much that I wrote this song“. Front man Aaron Barret’s vocal chords haven’t changed a bit over the years and still have the classic Reel Big Fish howl to then while Scott Klopfenstein’s is still able to back him up like he always did too.

Listening to We’re Not Happy ‘Til You’re Not Happy, you can’t help but feel the need to skank and sing along with the band’s famed ska sound. Of course, like always, they don’t stick solely to the ska sound but let it a slight more punk feel into to it too at times, maybe even more so then they have other times with slightly harder bass lines and more driving guitars, the horn selection isn’t always quite as obvious as it was in the past. All of which has its up and downs, but luckily for Reel Big Fish there’s more ups then there are downs.

We’re Not Happy ‘Til You’re Not Happy is a good, solid ska album from one of the genre’s best bands. It does have a slightly rawer punk sound added to it then before, but fans will still love to skank along with it.