Fight With Tools

The way they combine contemporary beats with traditional instrumentation is fresh. Musically they get an A+. Songs like "Anne Braden" and "We Are Winning" mix in elderly female's talking, which gives these tracks an avant-garde edginess. "We Are Winning" by the way is the best song on the album!

I also agree with half of what they say in their lyrics. They are very much anti-Geroge W. Bush, and rightfully so. He was a failure, the war in Iraq was a sham and a disgrace to us.

But their solution to the problems is juvenile. They have chosen the soft-core socialism of the Democratic party. Bureaucratic programs like universal health-care and welfare.

America needs less government. Of every kind. Every program. Every department. We need LESS not more. The bureaucracies are making this country fall apart. Fight against the status quo, YES! Fight against government corruption, YES! But fight to make the government bigger in hopes that it will enrich our lives? NO!

We need more bands like Flobots, sans the socialist message. We need some Libertarian Flobots. That would make a great American album with a great American message.

The album opens up brashly- "there is a war going on for your mind". Fans of the single handle-bars should be wary of this album. That single is sneaky in a way. Judging by it, you would not expect an album just as political as any by fellow rap-rock group Rage Against the Machine. However, what you get when you give the disc a spin is undeniably political. This will more than likely turn a large number of people off, as the political views expressed are what I would consider "Democratic Socialist" or "Progressive Libertarian". The ideas expressed range from "don't let them assassinate Hugo Chavez", "bring the troops home," and "more money for public welfare" to messages as simple and dumbfounding as "legalize weed".

I agree with only one of the above statements. Still, I think the album is a success. I can forgive Flobots for some of their more immature political views because the album succeeds in the most important area- it really does get your mind moving. You may not agree with the message the members of Flobots express, but they make the truth that "There is a war going on for your mind" very clear. Whether their proposed solutions work or not is not as important in comparison. In the end, the Flobots fail to win this war on your mind that they speak of. However, the average listener will still be mentally activated by the provocativeness of the lyrical content. Those who already have strong political views are bound to react to this album strongly one way or another. Those who have not taken an interest in politics will feel that they have been missing something very dire going on, and will more than likely be made more aware by the album..

Flobots have hit a winning formula here- an intelligent, thought provoking message accompanied by REAL instruments playing music that almost ANYONE who likes rock instrumentation OR rap beats can appreciate. You may not love Flobots and you may not hate them, but you will undoubtedly feel something. You will not forget who they are once you've heard them, as the intensity of their message will rub you one way or another.

Is it just me or does the Handlebars song sound like the band Cake rapping. If you like this song check out Cake; especially the Fashion Nugget album. I honestly thought this was a Cake side project. Flobots are cool, but Cake has been doing this for quite a while. Still, this is a good thing and I wish them a lot of sucess.

I'm very happy to have discovered this band. they're very progressive hip-hop and the integration of strings and intelligent lyrics is just amazing.

I couldn't agree more with those who are turned off by this disc based on the band's politics, which amount to the usual vaguely confrontational, slightly left-of-center platitudes that plague almost the entire pantheon of so-called "conscious rap," but I have to hand it to these guys for their song "The Rhythm Method (Move!)." When was the last time you heard an emcee keep up with a band that rocks a 7/8 beat with as much unfettered gusto and drum-tight rhythms as this? No easy feat in a genre so slavishly devoted 4/4 time. "The Rhythm Method (Move!)" is a hip-hop must-download track of the year so far...