Our Newest Album Ever!
Encyclopedia
Our Newest Album Ever! is the second full-length studio album released by the band Five Iron Frenzy
. Its street date was November 11, 1997 on Five Minute Walk, under the SaraBellum imprint, with distribution from Warner Bros. Records
. This album is considered by many to be the band's greatest effort, with "Every New Day" closing many of their live shows.
Musically, the band set out to differentiate itself from other third wave ska groups, an effort that was met with mixed results. An Allmusic reviewer found that the band's approach was "status quo," pointing out that the sound of "Handbook for the Sellout" was similar to Reel Big Fish
's "Sell Out
." Another reviewer found that the artwork (which was produced by Douglas TenNapel) and production were superior to the masses of ska bands that had begun to flood the market. In any event, the music is an evolution from the sound found on the group's debut
, moving toward a less-punkish feel and incorporating more intricate horn arrangements.
While the album contains a number of references to pop culture items, it uses them to make serious points about society and Christianity. One reviewer compares the effect to the lyrics of Steve Taylor
, commenting that Five Iron Frenzy should be known as "the thinking person's ska outfit." Even when used to comic effect, several reviewers indicated that the band's lyrics contain serious messages underneath. Despite the band's religious label, however, Five Iron's approach to issues was perceived as relevant and non-preachy.
Five Iron Frenzy also set itself apart visually by avoiding the checker motif associated with ska.
. Specifically, it references the Sand Creek massacre
of 1864, which was an attack led by Colonel John Chivington
against an encampment under chief Black Kettle
. According to Reese Roper
, the song contains a hidden meaning -- Black Kettle waved the American Flag which couldn't save him, Christians fall under God's banner, and in Him they find salvation.
Other songs take on a more personal tone. "Blue Comb '78" relays an early memory of the vocalist, about how he lost a prized possession, as an allegory
for loss of innocence
. The band received thousands of blue combs from fans throughout their career. At their final show, released as The End Is Here, the band lamented "You don't know how many times we wished we'd named that 'Have You Seen My Dollar
'... We failed'."
"Fistful of Sand" draws its inspiration from the book of Ecclesiastes
, echoing a representation of the futility of life without God. "Second Season" takes a similar thread, explaining that "The strongest will expire just the same... Try to make my shoulders broad, but I am helpless without God."
The band also takes on itself, examining its own success and members. In "Superpowers" the band humorously describes the trials of life on the road, the trials of the music business, and also describing the band's own purpose, "...I just want to share with you, how we got this peace and hope." In doing so the song references Holden Caulfield
, a fictional character from the novel The Catcher in the Rye
, and Jack Kerouac
, a beatnik
author and poet. "Where Is Micah?" invokes the image of John Walsh
, host of America's Most Wanted
, to roast
guitarist Micah Ortega
for his constant absence from practices.
"Superpowers" is not the only music industry-themed song. "Litmus" takes a swipe at the band's critics within the Christian music industry
, with a message that the amount of "Godliness" cannot be resolved through clean-cut measures. "You say preach, they say rock. You put my God inside a box," the lyricist states. Another cut along the same lines is the opening track, "Handbook For The Sellout."
"Suckerpunch" is about how even "rejects" and "misfits" like nerdy teenagers are loved and accepted by God. It echoes the "God is in your corner" theme that is also espoused on "Banner Year."
"Oh, Canada" takes a Tongue-in-cheek
look at Canada
. The song makes reference to the country as "the maple leaf
state," and mentions elements associated with the country including lemming
s, moose
s, yak
s, elements of French Canadian
culture
, Royal Mounties
, and Canada-native William Shatner
.
The album closes with the worshipful "Every New Day." One reviewer called it without a doubt the best song on the album", noting in retrospect that it closed many of their shows up until the band disbanded. The song is about how daily life
and daily struggles can obscure faith. The song draws two lines from The Tyger
, a poem by William Blake
. The musical melody of the outro horn line contains similarities to the ending vocal melody from the Nerf Herder
song "Golfshirt". This horn line was rewritten for the "Winners Never Quit" tour. The end of the song was reprised on "On Distant Shores", the final track of the band's last studio album, The End Is Near
.
Following "Every New Day" is the hidden track, "The Godzilla Song," which melodically resembles "Carnival," the first track on "Motor City Ska", the debut album from fellow Christian ska band, The Insyderz.
Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy is a Christian ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1995 and disbanded in 2003. The band announced they were recording new material on November 22, 2011....
. Its street date was November 11, 1997 on Five Minute Walk, under the SaraBellum imprint, with distribution from Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. This album is considered by many to be the band's greatest effort, with "Every New Day" closing many of their live shows.
Musically, the band set out to differentiate itself from other third wave ska groups, an effort that was met with mixed results. An Allmusic reviewer found that the band's approach was "status quo," pointing out that the sound of "Handbook for the Sellout" was similar to Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...
's "Sell Out
Sell Out (song)
"Sell Out" is a song by California ska punk band Reel Big Fish, released as the first track on their 1996 album Turn The Radio Off. The song has proven to be one of Reel Big Fish's more popular releases. It has been interpreted as chronicling the payola scandals of early FM radio. However, it can...
." Another reviewer found that the artwork (which was produced by Douglas TenNapel) and production were superior to the masses of ska bands that had begun to flood the market. In any event, the music is an evolution from the sound found on the group's debut
Upbeats and Beatdowns
Upbeats and Beatdowns is the first full-length album of the band Five Iron Frenzy. It was released April 8, 1997 on Five Minute Walk, under the SaraBellum imprint, with distribution from Warner Bros. Records...
, moving toward a less-punkish feel and incorporating more intricate horn arrangements.
While the album contains a number of references to pop culture items, it uses them to make serious points about society and Christianity. One reviewer compares the effect to the lyrics of Steve Taylor
Steve Taylor
Roland Stephen Taylor , is an American Christian singer, songwriter, record producer and film director.-Early life:Taylor, the eldest of three children, was born in Brawley, California. Taylor's father, Roland Taylor, was a Baptist minister. When Taylor was six years old, the family relocated to...
, commenting that Five Iron Frenzy should be known as "the thinking person's ska outfit." Even when used to comic effect, several reviewers indicated that the band's lyrics contain serious messages underneath. Despite the band's religious label, however, Five Iron's approach to issues was perceived as relevant and non-preachy.
Five Iron Frenzy also set itself apart visually by avoiding the checker motif associated with ska.
Lyrical content
The content of Our Newest Album Ever! continues several topical threads that the band had begun to explore on their debut album. "Banner Year" takes on the thread of historical mistreatment of Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Specifically, it references the Sand Creek massacre
Sand Creek Massacre
As conflict between Indians and white settlers and soldiers in Colorado continued, many of the Cheyenne and Arapaho, including bands under Cheyenne chiefs Black Kettle and White Antelope, were resigned to negotiate peace. The chiefs had sought to maintain peace in spite of pressures from whites...
of 1864, which was an attack led by Colonel John Chivington
John Chivington
John Milton Chivington was a colonel in the United States Army who served in the American Indian Wars during the Colorado War and the New Mexico Campaigns of the American Civil War...
against an encampment under chief Black Kettle
Black Kettle
Chief Black Kettle was a leader of the Southern Cheyenne after 1854, who led efforts to resist American settlement from Kansas and Colorado territories. He was a peacemaker who accepted treaties to protect his people. He survived the Third Colorado Cavalry's Sand Creek Massacre on the Cheyenne...
. According to Reese Roper
Reese Roper
Michael Reese Roper is an independent filmmaker and the former lead singer and chief song writer of the third-wave ska band Five Iron Frenzy. After Five Iron Frenzy disbanded in 2003, Reese released a single album using the moniker Roper. He is also part of the band Brave Saint Saturn, who released...
, the song contains a hidden meaning -- Black Kettle waved the American Flag which couldn't save him, Christians fall under God's banner, and in Him they find salvation.
Other songs take on a more personal tone. "Blue Comb '78" relays an early memory of the vocalist, about how he lost a prized possession, as an allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
for loss of innocence
Innocence
Innocence is a term used to indicate a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, sin, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence refers to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime.-Symbolism:...
. The band received thousands of blue combs from fans throughout their career. At their final show, released as The End Is Here, the band lamented "You don't know how many times we wished we'd named that 'Have You Seen My Dollar
United States one-dollar bill
The United States one-dollar bill is the most common denomination of US currency. The first president, George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stuart, is currently featured on the obverse, while the Great Seal of the United States is featured on the reverse. The one-dollar bill has the oldest...
'... We failed'."
"Fistful of Sand" draws its inspiration from the book of Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
, echoing a representation of the futility of life without God. "Second Season" takes a similar thread, explaining that "The strongest will expire just the same... Try to make my shoulders broad, but I am helpless without God."
The band also takes on itself, examining its own success and members. In "Superpowers" the band humorously describes the trials of life on the road, the trials of the music business, and also describing the band's own purpose, "...I just want to share with you, how we got this peace and hope." In doing so the song references Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield is the 16-to-17 years old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He is universally recognized for his resistance to growing older and desire to protect childhood innocence...
, a fictional character from the novel The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major...
, and Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
, a beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
author and poet. "Where Is Micah?" invokes the image of John Walsh
John Walsh
John Edward Walsh is an American television personality, criminal investigator, human and victim rights advocate and formerly the host, as well as creator, of America's Most Wanted...
, host of America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
, to roast
Roast (comedy)
A roast is an event in which an individual is subjected to a public presentation of comedic insults, praise, outlandish true and untrue stories, and heartwarming tributes, the implication being that the roastee is able to take the jokes in good humor and not as serious criticism or insult, and...
guitarist Micah Ortega
Micah Ortega
Micah Ortega is best known as a guitarist for Five Iron Frenzy. He was born on May 31, 1976 in Greeley, Colorado and is a graduate of Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado...
for his constant absence from practices.
"Superpowers" is not the only music industry-themed song. "Litmus" takes a swipe at the band's critics within the Christian music industry
Christian music industry
The Christian music industry is a small part of the larger music industry, that focuses on traditional Gospel music, Southern Gospel music, Contemporary Christian music, and alternative Christian music. It is sometimes called the gospel music industry, although this designation is not a limitation...
, with a message that the amount of "Godliness" cannot be resolved through clean-cut measures. "You say preach, they say rock. You put my God inside a box," the lyricist states. Another cut along the same lines is the opening track, "Handbook For The Sellout."
"Suckerpunch" is about how even "rejects" and "misfits" like nerdy teenagers are loved and accepted by God. It echoes the "God is in your corner" theme that is also espoused on "Banner Year."
"Oh, Canada" takes a Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
look at Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The song makes reference to the country as "the maple leaf
Maple leaf
The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree, and is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada.-Use in Canada:At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the settlements of New France had attained a population of about 18,000...
state," and mentions elements associated with the country including lemming
Lemming
Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae , which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats,...
s, moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
s, yak
Yak
The yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
s, elements of French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
culture
Culture of Quebec
The Culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years, resulting from the shared history of the French-speaking majority in Quebec. It is unique to the Western World; Quebec is the only region in North America with a French-speaking majority, as well as one of only two provinces in Canada...
, Royal Mounties
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
, and Canada-native William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
.
The album closes with the worshipful "Every New Day." One reviewer called it without a doubt the best song on the album", noting in retrospect that it closed many of their shows up until the band disbanded. The song is about how daily life
Personal life
Personal life is the course of an individual's life, especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices contributing to one's personal identity. It is a common notion in modern existence—although more so in more prosperous parts of the world such as Western Europe and North America...
and daily struggles can obscure faith. The song draws two lines from The Tyger
The Tyger
"The Tyger" is a poem by the English poet William Blake. It was published as part of his collection Songs of Experience in 1794 . It is one of Blake's best-known and most analyzed poems...
, a poem by William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
. The musical melody of the outro horn line contains similarities to the ending vocal melody from the Nerf Herder
Nerf Herder
Nerf Herder is a punk rock band from Santa Barbara formed in 1994 by Parry Gripp , Charlie Dennis and Steve Sherlock . They describe themselves as a "geek rock" band, and are known for simplistic modern punk-style songs with frequently humorous, juvenile and pop-culture-referencing lyrics...
song "Golfshirt". This horn line was rewritten for the "Winners Never Quit" tour. The end of the song was reprised on "On Distant Shores", the final track of the band's last studio album, The End Is Near
The End Is Near (Five Iron Frenzy album)
The End is Near is the fifth and purported final studio album by Five Iron Frenzy, self-released on June 18, 2003. The album was later widely re-released as a part of double album titled The End is Here by Five Minute Walk Records on April 20, 2004...
.
Following "Every New Day" is the hidden track, "The Godzilla Song," which melodically resembles "Carnival," the first track on "Motor City Ska", the debut album from fellow Christian ska band, The Insyderz.
Track listing
- "Handbook For The Sellout" - 3:28
- "Where Is Micah?" - 2:55
- "Superpowers" - 3:23
- "Fistful of Sand" - 4:18
- "Suckerpunch" - 3:32
- "Kitty Doggy" - 0:41
- "Blue Comb '78" - 3:04
- "Banner Year" - 4:13
- "Second Season" - 3:45
- "Litmus" - 4:05
- "Oh, Canada" - 3:15
- "Most Likely To Succeed" - 3:57
- "Every New Day" - 4:13
- "The Godzilla Song" (hidden trackHidden trackIn the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
) - 2:03
Lineup
- Reese Roper - Lead vocals
- Micah Ortega - Lead guitar, vocals
- Scott Kerr - Guitar, vocals
- Keith Hoerig - Bass guitar
- Andy Verdecchio - Drums, vocals
- Nathanel "Brad" Dunham - Trumpet, BGVs
- Dennis Culp - Trombone, BGVs (lead vocals on track 9)
- Leanor Ortega "Jeff The Girl" - Saxophone, BGVs
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Billboard 200 | 176 |