Click on this link ... Just do it ... Oingo Boingo demands it of you. Everything for the Braves Overall Album Score: 9.3 out of 10 What can I say about Oingo Boingo that won’t sound like babbling from a music fan in awe? There’s something about a pop band that dares to be artistically challenging … while still making their music danceable (when they want to be) and 100 percent enjoyable in the pop sense … that fascinates me. Furthermore, this band’s sense of humor and spot-on hooks makes their albums irresistible. Nothing to Fear is this group’s sophomore release. It’s a stellar follow-up to their stellar debut, Only a Lad and it almost equals the previous album in quality. Naturally, this music is 1980s sounding, but it’s hardly dated. The term ‘dated’ implies that the music lost its appeal through time. Oingo Boingo does no such thing. There is not a single generic synth or drum beat. (Naturally, the snares are pretty loud, but they’re nothing close to sounding as bad as a Michael Bolton pop song.) I am absolutely confident when I say that this is an album that will be more heartily endured 200 years from now than any Madonna album. (If they invent an immortal brain on computers during my lifetime, I’ll make a wager on that because it’s a sure thing.) So, what exactly makes this album appealing? The hook-filled melodies, grooves and moods, that’s what. There is not a single moment on this album that fails to delight. From the alien dance-pop song “Grey Matter,” the creepy but festive “Masterpiece,” the utterly driving “Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself)” and even heavy metal esque “Islands,” this is an album that anyone who appreciates music for the art should enjoy. There’s no honest reason that others shouldn’t enjoy this music as well! REALLY! I’M NOT LYING!!! One of my main complaints about Only a Lad was its tendency to repeat itself. Well, the striking diversity present here thwarts that notion! Overall Album Score: 9.3 out of 10 (The follow-up is another brilliant pop album. Thou shall bow down to thy Oingo Boingo.) Average Song Score: 9.3 (A lot of excitement a lot of weirdness.) Album Tilt: 9.0 (Absolutely weird, utterly enthralling.) Artist Rating: 9.5 (They keep on trying out new things here, which was lacking a bit in their debut. This is fun pop music that art-rock lovers can endure.) Track Reviews Grey Matter 10/10 The album starts off with quite a trusty pop rock song. An ominous loop of a creepy synthesizer, and then a mightily danceable bass-synth chimes in signaling us to get ready to dance. And then the drums and electric guitar come in and starts playing some wonderful New Wave notes. The song is nearly six minutes long and the fun of it never lets up. This song even incorporates the heavy use of the xylophone, a bass guitar (playing some rapid notes reminiscent of the Cars) and various well-chosen synthesizers. How can one resist? Insects 9.5/10 After the thunderously enjoyable beginning comes a song that’s about 10 times more bizarre. The buzz of synthesized insects go through your ears (and I’m listening to this song with headphones right now, so that bizarreness is intensified). This song threatens to be a punk song at first with a dark and almost brooding electric guitars thundering at a very low register. Then, the song all of the sudden becomes danceable with an utterly fun bass groove and horns keeping a festive beat. (The song goes back and forth between these two moods.) What an interesting composition! Private Life 8.5/10 This track is relatively more normal and, on the artistic sense, less interesting. But it’s still pretty weird! It’s also dang danceable. (Seriously, throw away that dumb Madonna dance album that was released one year after this and never look back!) The song is constructed using a danceable bass-rhythm, rhythm guitars keeping the beat and an infectiously catchy melody. Random synthesizers (one sounding like it was computer generated) pepper it and a nicely arranged horn section. Wild Sex (in the Working Class) 9/10 This track seems to be a fan favorite and for good reason. It’s a very focused song and the lyrics are pretty funny too. “Insects” is weirder because of the nature of the composition, but it changes abruptly (though ingeniously) in between two different musical styles. “Wild Sex” is more of a concentrated, highly energetic song with a driving beat. The rhythm guitar is reminiscent of the Cars (i.e. rapid notes being played), and it keeps the song snappy and some eccentric instrumental choices (including almost industrial bell raps) gives it the personality. … Not to mention the melody is good. (Elfman sings almost like Elvis.) It’s not an infectious melody, mind you. But it’s technically quite good. Running on a Treadmill 8/10 This one doesn’t impress me that much I’m afraid. It never really stuck out to me neither as I listened to this album casually or as I listen to it carefully. It still contains more merit than Madonna’s entire career! It starts out with a calculated synth-pop sound. A very strange synthesizer goes off in the background lending it an almost alien atmosphere. The guitars have a vague ska edge. Some sweeping synthesizers come in and out, I suppose, to creep us out. And some horns continue to keep the song festive sounding. The melody isn’t bad, but … it just seems below the par to me! Whole Day Off 10/10 Ah yes, this is very strange, and I like it! It’s a mid-tempoed pop-rocker (thus not extremely suitable for dancing) but it’s driven by a very creepy, and very well written bass guitar line. Horns are used extensively throughout this song, which lends it, again, a fairly festive edge. This song sounds like music a family of zombies would play at a party. (I guess it was only a matter of time this band would come up with “Dead Man’s Party.”) This is absolutely addictive creepy music! Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself) 9.5/10 A stark heavy metal connection is brought up with this track. But it’s not really heavy metal. It’s not really pop music either. The tone of this song is dark yet the groove is more or less danceable. The horn sections are widely used here, but it sounds more frantic than festive. The drama of this song is rarely surpassed. (The feeling you get from this song, especially when it’s played loud, is quite energizing.) The hooks are utterly solid in this song as well. Even the punk-ish chorus was wonderfully constructed. This is another challenging and 100 percent enjoyable song. It’s difficult to pigeonhole this song in a genre (as you might have already been able to tell) which is another very appealing quality of this band. Why’d We Come 9.5/10 Yet another quirky masterpiece! The song sort of has some parts that are more lighthearted and other parts that are maniacally heavy. Again, the transition between these parts are surprising and thrilling. This is another dance song turned wonderfully on its ear. It has a beat similar to the pounding New Wave rhythms of, perhaps, The Knack (“My Sharona”) but this was launched about 10,000 light-years into space. Islands 9/10 This is like a brooding epic. This song is definitely like heavy metal. The electric guitars are at the base of this song. Naturally, there are synthesizers in this song too but only those that would be consistent to the sound of heavy metal. Well, metal heads, Oingo Boingo proves that they could have been heavy metal superstars if they wanted to. But that’s not what Elfman wanted to do. He was just experimenting with it. The melody is very good for heavy metal (…heavy metal songs don’t really have to be catchy because these songs are supposed to impress with the guitars…) More importantly, this song keeps a very distinctive mood throughout the song. It’s dramatic (but still kinda crazy) and they give groups like Iron Maiden a run for their money. … But back to the crazy pop tunes. I like those better. Reptiles and Samurai 9.5/10 See, what’d I tell you? We’re back to weird pop music! The song begins with the rapid beat of a rhythmic synthesizer (ala synth-pop) and some really crazy groove starts playing. This is a bouncy dance song with strong development throughout the song shifting from one odd musical idea to another without flaw … It’s very strange, very unique and you can dance to it! What’s not to love? The comments; the wonderment; the awesometoniousness; send thy soul here.

Michael Lawrence wrote this review and all the other ones on this site. Yeah, that means I'm pretty much better than you.