Reel Big Fish * The Maxies * The Blue Hornets

With their latest full-length, released just last month, Reel Big Fish display an inspired and infectiously catchy return to form. With the hyperkinetic ska and biting wit familiar to fans from the group's beloved early releases, Candy Coated Fury finds "the same intensity, frantic energy in the music, and the same sarcastic sense of humor" as their first two releases, as vocalist, guitarist, and principle songwriter Aaron Barrett puts it. He adds, "We're finally just doing what Reel Big Fish does best." The record takes all the hateful, sarcastic, and sad emotions people experience in the face of relationships as they change for the worse, and loads them onto joyous and fast music to dance to for a new experience.

As their first album of original material in five years, Candy Coated Fury also celebrates twenty years of Reel Big Fish, evoking a sound as vital and vitriolic as their early material. Between huge sing-alongs, balmy horns, and hyperactive ska grooves, the group is able to distill their classic and euphorically juvenile brand of ska punk while bringing it into the present. The release has moments touching on cock rock, arena riffs, new wave, and even soul, but all still hold together without sacrificing their signature skank-worthy vibes. Of course, the group is also known for putting their own touch on 1980s classics, and Candy Coated Fury doesn't let the listener down in that department, as Reel Big Fish take a playful and irreverent attitude toward the Wonderstuff's "Don't Let Me Down Gently" and When In Rome's "The Promise." The band will continue touring to support the effort, following their trend of playing over 250 shows per year to help the ska scene flourish.