Reel Big Fish have long since been a ska sensation. Originating out of Southern California, the seven members of the group have certainly had a lot of success not only in North America but in places all over the globe like Germany and Japan. Turn The Radio Off is what I consider to be their best work by a hair becuase it is, to me, the most complete summing up of the band on a single album.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the album is the pacing - the album starts out with 'Sellout', one of the best songs the band has ever produced, and the album moves through its songs with seemless transitions that give it a nice whole feel that lends itself well to listening to all fifteen songs in a stretch.

Songwriters Aaron Barrett (guitar and vocalist) and Scott Klopfenstein (back-up guitar, back-up vocals, second trumpet) have conjured up Reel Big Fish's unique brand of happy, toe-tappin' melodies with delightfully dark lyrics better and more consistantly than they ever have, and the brasslines are so insanely catchy that you'll be humming them all day long.

If you've been looking for a ska album and you, for some inconceivable reason, haven't picked Turn The Radio Off up yet, you must buy this album.

Reel Big Fish is a band that has never compromised their vision, and for the most part, the same holds true for Cheer Up, their latest album. Although their move to Epic Records has given their songs a bit of a censored feel, this sixteen-track album is undeniably Reel Big Fish, and longtime fans will certainly love it.

As with all Reel Big Fish records, the vast majoirty of the album is extremely high quality stuff (Good Thing, Cheer Up, Suckers, and Dateless Losers are some of the best songs Reel Big Fish has ever conjured up) with only a few askew songs to bring things down - A Little Doubt Goes A Long Way is too awkwardly arranged, and the cover of New York, New York is too unlike the band's music to be truly enjoyed.

As aforementioned, Epic Records has more or less prohibited Reel Big Fish from using profanity or dark themes that gave the band an interesting contrast to all the happy brasslines and melodies, but these songs still sound and "read" like Reel Big Fish's other works. Also, the higher production values have produced some odd "mechanical" sounding harmonizations, though harmonizing at the fifth always creates this sort of effect.

Ultimately, Cheer Up is an excellent addition to anybody who can appreciate fun, light-toned music. Although the lyrical content has taken a bit of a shift, the instrumentation and feel of the group remains the same.