Album Review: 41 by Reggie and the Full Effect

41 is really good, and I don't know if I have anything interesting to say about it.

One of the themes in yesterday's review was maturity, and that kind of fits in here too.

That may seem wrong, because everyone knows that Reggie and the Full Effect is supposed to be silly. There is a song named after a dog. (Okay, if you're an animal person, that doesn't seem that silly.) Many of the titles don't seem that serious, though the song content can be.

Mainly, though, if I mention maturity it's continuously hearing James Dewees grow as a musician when he has been really good at this for a long time. I know I have said that before, especially in regard to comparing "My Dad - Happy Chickens" to "Fowlin Around". That came from looking at similar themes in subject matter. This time it was more hearing musical passages that reminded me of earlier songs, and their growth and refinement.

I did go over the entire previous Reggie catalog in preparation. (I considered listening to 21 by Adele too, in case it influenced more than the photo shoot, but I just couldn't do it.) That was good in itself, but I also picked up some things.

Last Stop: Crappy Town was previously my least favorite album, because of its harshness. It is more abrasive than the other albums, but it has more nuance than I had picked up on before. I'm glad I took another look. Also, as aggressive as Common Denominator's Klaus comes off, he is unfailingly polite.

Also, sometimes starting off not so serious can free you for something very real.

I remember first noticing that for the "Get Well Soon" video. It would be very uncomfortable to watch a human be that devastated, and it would be hard for an actor to pull off. Because it's the Loch Ness Monster, the emotional collapse is more accessible to the audience than it would be otherwise.

So on "The Horrible Year", when it ends with a scream, it works. There is pain and frustration and too much hitting at once, and the audience gets it. For a band that was supposed to be serious, it would be undersold unless the scream was done so loudly and overdone that it went wrong in the other direction. (It could probably work in metal.) As it is, it's perfect and you feel it.

The three singles ("The Horrible Year", "Maggie", and "Karate School") all made strong impressions, but if you only listen to them, you do not get "Alone Again", or "New Years Day", or "Broke Down" (possibly my favorite) or "Il Pesce Svedese" (possibly the most Reggie).

It's just a really good album. You should get it.

The other thing I want to mention is that although I did not write it up, I did see Reggie and the Full Effect last April, and it was really tight. It would have been almost impossible to improve the set list and the ensemble sounded great. I don't know if it is the exact same lineup coming around now, but it promises to be a good show.

One last thing, if Cobra Kai is returning, then we needed the song "Karate School" more than we could have imagined.


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