Zebrahead – Brain Invaders

Apr20. Another album where I have been listening to a few songs I love, but have not really played the whole thing. I love the first song, 'When Both Sides Suck…' and parts of the second song. Then I have had the next two ('All My Friends are Nobodies' and 'We're Not Alright') on heavy rotation, and along with the first song, these are well placed in my #2019Hotterest100. Such fun choruses to sing along to.
'You Don't Know Anything About Me' starts with some horns and brings a bit of Reel Big Fish sound to the album. In fact, I would not be surprised if it IS the guys from RBF on this song. 'Chasing the Sun' continues the ska vibe, though this one sounds more NOFX-like to start with. Then we have a run of okay songs that are starting to sound similar, until we get to the breezy 'Up In Smoke' which sounds like the stuff Sugar Ray turned to. It has an okay chorus which also invokes some 311.
'Ichi, Ni, Shan, Shi' is obviously here to cater to their Japanese audience (where these guys are huge… yep, cue Tom Waits). 'Take a Deep Breath' sounds like poor Linkin Park. I really like the combination of vocalists here, though I think they overdo the rap-thing in parts. I like these guys, but they probably should trim their albums back a little. Very good in moderation, but the good songs are very good, and fun. There were also some Sum 41 moments too ('Party on the Dancefloor' and 'Bullet on the Brain'). 3.5/5