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Fight with Tools

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"Mayday!!!" redirects here. For other uses, see Mayday (disambiguation).
Fight with Tools
Studio album by
Flobots
ReleasedOctober 16, 2007 (2007-10-16)
May 20, 2008 (2008-05-20) (re-release)
Recorded2007 at The Wrecking Room (Boulder)
Brotherhood Studios (Denver)
GenreRap rock, jazz fusion, alternative rock, political hip hop
Length45:35
LabelIndependent (original release),
Universal Republic (re-release)
ProducerFlobots
Flobots chronology
Fight with Tools
(2007) 		Survival Story
(2010)
Singles from Fight with Tools
  1. "Handlebars"
    Released: June 15, 2008
  2. "Rise"
    Released: August 2008

Fight with Tools is the debut album by Flobots, originally released in October 2007 and re-released on May 20, 2008. The album was recorded in 2007 around the band's home state of Colorado. Fight with Tools received a mildly positive reception from critics who praised the production and serious subject matter. The album features the single "Handlebars" which became a popular hit on Modern Rock radio the following April, also becoming a popular hit in the UK (#14[1]), New Zealand (#26[2]) and Canada (#63[3]). The album also features the single "Rise" which also became a popular hit on Modern Rock radio after its release. In the week of June 7, 2008, the album jumped on the Billboard 200 chart 168 places and peaked at number 15, selling over 265,000 copies. The album also peaked at number 52 on the UK Albums Chart.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Exclaim!(positive)[5]
PopMatters[6]
RapReviews8/10[7]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5.0[8]

Fight with Tools garnered a mildly positive reception from music critics who praised the production and attention to political topics. Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews praised the album for its use of live instrumentation and the lyrical delivery of both Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit, concluding with, "The versatility of the Flobots sound makes them very hard to pin down, but it also makes for an entertaining musical journey that doesn't get bogged down by their politics or a preachy didactic presentation."[7] AllMusic's David Jeffries also complimented the band for having the ambition to tackle various political messages while backed with a live orchestra, saying that "Good points are made with skill and fine wordplay, the guitars and drums crunch along driving home the message with head-bobbing grooves, and the album opens up with the marvelous "Handlebars", a carefully crafted, slowly building tale of the ego run wild via some beautiful muted trumpet."[4] A more negative appraisal came from James Greene, Jr. of PopMatters, who criticized the album for failing to recapture what Rage Against the Machine brought before and for being preachy in its political messages. Greene stated that "At the end of the day, Flobots and their sophomore effort can be summed up by the album's third track, "Same Thing". As the chorus demonstrates, they're just saying the same things over again, giving us the same revolutionary slogans anti-establishment forces have been shouting in the face of 'The Man' for years: "We want money for healthcare and public welfare / free Mumia and Leonard Peltier!""[6]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Flobots

No.TitleLength
1."There's a War Going On for Your Mind"1:22
2."Mayday!!!"4:36
3."Same Thing"3:29
4."Stand Up"4:38
5."Fight with Tools"4:51
6."Handlebars"3:27
7."Never Had It"5:07
8."Combat"2:05
9."The Rhythm Method (Move!)"3:52
10."Anne Braden"4:21
11."We Are Winning"3:22
12."Rise"4:10
UK bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Iraq"3:31

Personnel

[edit]

Adapted credits from the Fight with Tools booklet.[9]

Charts

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending August 16, 2008". ChartsPlus (364). Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd.: 1–4.
  2. ^ "New Zealand Singles Chart". charts.nz. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  3. ^ "Flobots Album & Chart History – Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Fight with Tools - Flobots". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  5. ^ Acharya, Neil (August 15, 2008). "Flobots - Fight with Tools". Exclaim!. Ian Danzig. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Greene Jr., James (June 10, 2008). "Flobots: Fight With Tools". PopMatters. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Juon, Steve 'Flash' (May 13, 2008). "Flobots :: Fight With Tools :: Universal Republic Records". RapReviews. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  8. ^ Flatley, Ryan (May 27, 2008). "Flobots - Fight with Tools (album review 3)". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  9. ^ Fight with Tools (booklet). Flobots. Universal Republic. 2008.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ "Lescharts.com – Flobots – Fight With Tools". Hung Medien.
  11. ^ "Flobots | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  12. ^ "Flobots Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  13. ^ "Flobots Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  14. ^ "Digital Albums: Jun 7, 2008". Billboard.biz. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  15. ^ "Flobots Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  16. ^ "Flobots Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  17. ^ "Flobots Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  18. ^ "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2008". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  19. ^ "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - 2008". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
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