How do you know that Family Force 5 are a funny bunch of fellows? Well, they name their album after everybody's favorite haircut, the Mullet, for one -- and if that didn't tip you off, there's also the fact that they have a drummer called "Crouton." But if you caught the Pulp Fiction reference in their band name ("Fox Force Five. Fox, as in we're a bunch of foxy chicks. Force, as in we're a force to be reckoned with. Five, as in there's one, two, three, four, five of us") and hoped that it meant that Family Force 5 might be clever will find Business Up Front/Party in the Back a disappointment. But that assumes that anyone had expectations for the first album by this band of "3 blood brothers and 2 friends." That's how they describe themselves on their MySpace page, which is also where they unleash their band manifesto: "they decided to make world history by playing a concoction of blended sounds!! Our music b uplifting and has a great message!" (sic). Well, they're being partially truthful. Family Force 5 do indeed play a concoction of blended sounds which, to the untrained ear, may sound like metallic riffs and rap rhythms learned from Limp Bizkit, but given a tongue-in-cheek makeover by piling up all sorts sounds from the '80s, from analog synths to the theme from Knight Rider to harmonies lifted from urban soul records to samples of Beastie Boys' samples to Speak & Spells, which are heard on about three tracks and name-dropped in the opener, Cadillac Phunque. Their music is indeed uplifting, if your definition of uplifting is, to paraphrase Eddie Murphy, partying all the time -- and that pretty much happens to be their message, too, since every one of the 12 songs on Business Up Front is about having a good time (even the X-Girlfriend and bitchy Drama Queen seem to get smacked down; they won't get with the program and party).

1		Cadillac Phunque
2		Kountry Gentleman
3		X-Girlfriend
4		Drama Queen
5		Put Ur Hands Up
6		Love Addict
7		Earthquake
8		Replace Me
9		Lose Urself
10		Peachy
11		Supersonic
12		Numb

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