Cheer Up!

Reel Big Fish: Aaron Barrett (vocals, strings); Scott Klopfenstein (vocals, guitar, electric piano, trumpet); Carlos de la Garza (drums, percussion);
Dan Regan (trombone, special effects); Matt Wong (bass).
Additional personnel: Travis Werts (Flugalhorn); Tyler Jones (trumpet); Iki Levy (percussion, samples); Ryland Steen (percussion); Nic Tenbroek, Gordie Johnson.
Producers: Aaron Barrett, Scott Klopfenstein, Gordie Johnson.
Recorded at Sound Factory, Paramount Studios, Grand Masters, Hollywood, California, Jake's Place, Studio City, California, Brando's Paradise, San Gabriel, California and World Class Audio, Anaheim, California.
Formed in Southern California in the early '90s, Reel Big Fish has slowly gathered a massive following by virtue of a combination of relentless touring and relentlessly peppy albums, following in the wake of such erstwhile ska/punk bands as No Doubt. While Reel Big Fish lack a front person with the obvious charms of Gwen Stefani, they plough an irresistible Bare Naked Ladies-type furrow with energetic frat-boy anthems such as "Ban the Tube Top" ("beautiful girl, ugly shirt--you are a fashion red alert") and the ska/R&B flavored "Suckers." There's no denying the attraction of sardonic lyrics set to upbeat rhythms, a formula the Fish stick to throughout CHEER UP! that hits home time and again, in songs such as "What Are Friends For," and "Dateless Losers," a self-explanatory frenetic excursion through many solitary Friday nights--("we're not so bad you know, but you won't give us a chance," they whine) that should find an echo in the hearts of dateless Reel Big Fish fans everywhere. With its refusal to take itself too seriously and its irrepressibly smart pop hooks, CHEER UP! is a joyous soundtrack to an endless summer.