Fishbone Stockholm Syndrome Review
Fishbone dropped their latest release Friday, titled Stockholm Syndrome. It comes at an odd time, as one of the men largely responsible for the naming of the psychological phenomenon of Stockholm Syndrome, Clark Oloffson, died Thursday following a lengthy illness. Stockholm Syndrome is a condition that occurs when victims began to empathize with their abusers, in the Stockholm case, bank robbers that held hostages for six days more than 50 years ago. Fishbone’s use of the term is most assuredly pointed commentary aimed at the present administration in the United States. They also hash-tagged the new release, #FuckRacism.
The album opens with what I feel is the strongest track on the record, a collaboration with funk legend George Clinton titled “Last Call in America.” Up tempo, and snappy, Fishbone’s unique blend of punk, funk, jazz, ska, metal and soul melds perfectly with Clinton, who the group previously partnered with on the very accessible 2000 release, Fishbone and the Familyhood Nextperience Present: The Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx, when an all-star lineup that included Perry Ferrell, Gwen Stefani, Rose Stone and Rick James recorded the old Sly Stone tune, “Everybody is a Star.”
The band originated when the Fisher brothers, John Norwood Fisher (bass), and Philip “Fish” Fisher (drums), joined with friends Angelo Moore (saxophone, vocals), “Dirty” Walter A. Kirby II (trumpet, vocals), Kendall Jones (guitar), and Chris Dowd (keyboards, trombone, vocals) in 1979 in junior high. In 1986 the band recorded and appeared in the movie Back to the Beach performing “Jamaica Ska” with Annette Funicello, and Frankie Avalon. Then they received what proved to be their breakthrough role, landing an opening spot on the Beastie Boy’s License to Ill Tour in 1987. Fishbone was the first band to play the original traveling iteration of Lollapalooza, appearing on select dates in 1991, and as one of the main stage acts in 1993. After that, however, “Fish” and Moore eventually were the final two original members standing then in 2010 everyone from the original line-up, except Jones, reunited for several anniversary and return tours.
Presently, Moore and Dowd, alongside long-time guitarist “Spacey T,” are the most tenured members of the group, that also includes JS Williams (trumpet), Hassan Hurd (drums), and James Jones (bass).
Back to the new release, finally, right? The second track features horns that reminded me of something you might experience at a traveling carnival funhouse. Highly infectious, the rambunctious “Adolescent Regressive Behavior” bounces along at breakneck speed, with a jazzy trumpet solo.
Track three, “Dog Eat Dog” was a little lackluster. “Spacey T’s” guitar work here stood out in an otherwise dull tune. Then there’s “Suckered by Sabotage,” which comes to a satisfying cacophonous orgy of sounds.
“Secret Police” doesn’t pull any punches, lambasting secretive law enforcement types that target minorities, much as ICE is presently doing in the United States. “Donny hates chinks, niggas, wetbacks and Jews / So he joined the armed forces for the Red, White, and Blue / He’s been deployed to a town at a riot near you / He joined the Secret Police…”
Damn!
“Gelato the Clown” features a spoken word rap that I thoroughly enjoyed, but the sound otherwise felt like something that might accompany a carnival clown car’s entrance under the big top. “Why Do We Keep Dying” shifts gears pretty drastically, it’s a light reggae number, reminiscent of some of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and “Bunny” Livingston’s more mellow material. The ska/funk fusion rears its head in the raucous “Hellhounds on My Trail.” It’s my second favorite track on the album, narrowly beating out “Racist Piece of Shit,” a truly fun kiss-off song that follows it.
One thing about the album that did let me down, however, was the fact I didn’t really notice any songs featuring Angelo Moore’s contrabass saxophone playing. Perhaps on a fourth or fifth listening I’ll pick it up if it’s there.
“Living on the Upside Down” immediately brought to mind the Netflix runaway hit of 2016 - Stranger Things. However, I’m not sure that’s what the band is referring to directly. It’s more of another song commentating upon the group’s view of present-day America, a theme which ties most if not all of the album together.
I felt “All About Us” had a decent moral message but is kinda lost in what I deemed a throwaway track. The piano-driven ballad “Love Is Love” concludes this record in a classy fashion, having ripped the present-day U.S. though much of the release, Fishbone wraps up with a wonderful sentiment. The band asks, “How we gonna build each other up / when we keep tearing end other down?” Well, love is love, and Fishbone is aces in my book. I saw them live at the height of their fame in 1993, and while this album doesn’t rise to the level of some of the early releases such as Truth and Soul, and The Reality of My Surroundings, it’s a damn solid album. A hearty recommendation for those particularly fond of genre mashups.
~Mike