Flobots, Survival Story
Universal Republic

If you’re looking for another “Handlebars,” the insanely catchy anti-imperialist anthem that put Denver, Colo. rap band Flobots on the map, then you won’t find it here. If anything from Survival Story emerges as a radio hit, it’ll be a dense political tract like “The Effect,” a call to activism, or “White Flag Warrior.” Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit are more polemicists than MCs, but they drive the band’s rap-rock grooves forward, and Mackenzie Roberts’ viola adds an element of drama. Survival Story is an energetic workout, even if Flobots haven’t mastered the art of songcraft yet.

Denver, Colo. sextet Flobots return with their third album, Survival Story. Set for a March 16 release via Universal Republic, it features a set of political barnstormers that will undoubtedly excite their fan base. The real question, however, is if they have a new set of songs as memorable as 2008′s breakout single “Handlebars.”

While you wait for the answer, chew over this chunk of bio:

Survival Story is a vision of hope for a world facing its limits. While others revel in the dystopian, the Flobots remain committed to their ability to rise together. Navigating the coming years will require new tools. It will require narratives that cause us to reexamine our priorities, redefine wealth, and re-inspire ourselves. It will require that we come together in the face of death and write the story of our own survival.

Holed up in Blasting Room studio in Ft. Collins, CO with Producer/Mixer Mario Caldato (Beastie Boys, Money Mark, One Day as a Lion), Flobots had a lot to get off their collective chests. They didn’t just tour the world they listened to it. From message boards to emails to comments left on social networking sites to actual conversations (remember those?), Flobots paid attention to what was being said. Andy believes, “Talking with the audience before and after shows gives us constant inspiration, and motivation, to keep doing what we do.”

Each and every person has a story to tell but struggle is a universal theme.

That’s not so say that the band that so eloquently declared on “Fight With Tools,” “We need heroes/ build them/ don’t put your fists up/ fill them” didn’t have their own internal battles while making their follow up. As Jesse opines, recording a Flobots record is “Like a virtual reality reenactment of the French revolution.”

MC Jonny 5 summed up the creative experience thusly: “Our greatest asset as a band is that we are six passionate people who invest ourselves fully into our music. We have made an explicit commitment to value everyone’s voices in this process. That means every time we write new songs we create a new process. It’s not always pretty, and it’s not always easy, but it’s the only way we know how to do it. If someone out there has found a formula for song-writing as a 6-person collective, we’d love to know what it is.”

“The growth displayed by the band over the past two years has been astounding,” asserts Kenny, “Our collective experiences in that time has informed our songwriting as a team, as well as our personal relationships and how we relate to each other as musicians. It’s evident on Survival Story.”

Says Jonny 5, “When people listen to Survival Story we want them to see themselves and their own stories, with all of their complications, questions, and frustrations. Rather than seek to hide them, we chose to embrace and even celebrate them as a part of a global transformation, one in which forces of violence, hopelessness and waste will be composted into fertile soil from which new possibility can grow. We want to leave people with a sense of excitement that a new world is emerging, one which has the power to shape, that a new story is being written and we must write it together. When the album is over, we want our listeners to walk away with a profound awareness of the cracks in the surface, a deep sense of what’s at stake and a strong resolve to make sure that new world is one in which loved ones near and far, known and unknown, survive.”

Here’s the track listing:

• 1. “Cracks in the Surface”
• 2. “The Effect”
• 3. “Defend Atlantis”
• 4. “If I”
• 5. “White Flag Warrior”
• 6. “By The Time You Get This Message”
• 7. “Airplane Mode”
• 8. “Whip$ and Chain$”
• 9. “Good Soldier”
• 10. “Superhero”
• 11. “Infatuation”
• 12. “Panacea for the Poison”

“Handlebars” group Flobots is working on a new album tentatively titled Survival Story with longtime Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato, Jr. It should drop in 2010 on Universal Republic. The Colorado band is also in the midst of a late-season tour that wraps up next month.

Currently slated for an early 2010 release, the album is tentatively tiled Survival Story and guest artists include Tim McIlrath of Rise Against on the track “White Flag Warrior” and ”Infatuation” with Matt Morris of Tennman Records. Other titles include “Airplane Mode”, “The Effect”, “By The Time You Get This message…”, “Cracks in the Surface” and “Good Soldier”. …

FLOBOTS lead MC Jonny 5 (aka Jamie Laurie), says “our new record has a few different themes, including trying to tell a story of survival through the story of Atlantis… but the major question is ‘Who will turn the tide?’.”

Jonny says “sustainability is another one of the big subjects on the new album – climate change is getting more and more attention and will continue to do in the weeks ahead because of the Copenhagen Climate Change Treaty in December. He adds, “Fight With Tools was a rallying cry, but I think we’re moving away from slogans and toward stories. This album is a lot more personal, focusing on the contradictions in our own lives. There’s a lot of negative energy in the news right now – Darfur, Ft. Hood, Afghanistan. – we need stories that give us hope.”

“The world is an island now, “Jonny continues, “we’re up against limited resources, and there’s nowhere to hide. More than ever we have to learn to live sustainably, and that means addressing things like violence, homelessness and wastefulness on a local level and trying to work together on a global level. We have no choice but to care for each other.”

Viola player Mackenzie Roberts says of FLOBOTS new music, “’I was extremely proud of [Fight With Tools], but I feel that this one really represents who we are”. Vocalist Brer Rabbit adds, “this record is really a breakthrough for us all as a collective. We really pushed ourselves, and I know I personally couldn’t be happier with the growth we’re showing, and the sincerity of our voice”.

Jonny 5 sums it up with, “there may be people wondering how we can possibly make music on the heals of “Handlebars”… but our new album is the shit.”

Here are the tour dates:

• 11/12: El Premier Nightclub, Las Vegas, NV
• 11/13: The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ
• 11/14: Sports Arena, San Diego, CA
• 11/16: The Starline, Fresno, CA
• 11/17: Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
• 11/18: Narducci’s Café, Bakersfield, CA
• 11/19: Downtown Brew, San Luis Obispo, CA
• 11/20: Velvet Jones, Santa Barbara, CA
• 11/23: Club Sound, Salt Lake City, UT
• 11/24: Sandbar Vail, Vail, CO
• 11/25: three20south, Breckenridge, CO
• 11/27: Pops, Sauget, IL
• 11/28: Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
• 11/29: The Basement, Columbus, OH
• 11/30: Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
• 12/02: Harper’s Ferry, Allston, MA
• 12/03: Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY
• 12/04: The Note, West Chester, PA
• 12/05: Recher Theatre, Towson, MD
• 12/06: Canal Club, Richmond, VA
• 12/08: Southgate House, Newport, KY
• 12/09: The Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
• 12/10: Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins, CO
• 12/17: Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO
• 12/18: Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO

Photo by Jake Trott.

Politically-minded (if sometimes overly earnest) rap band Flobots is currently on tour with Matisyahu in promotion of their 2007 album Fight With Tools. Whatever you think about “Handlebars,” they have an appropriate sound for these politically fraught times.

• 10/18: Eagles Club, Milwaukee, WI
• 10/19: Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 10/21: Madison Theatre, Covington, KY
• 10/22: Egyptian Room, Indianapolis, IN
• 10/23: The Fillmore, Detroit, MI
• 10/26: Magic City Music Hall, Johnson City, NY
• 10/28: Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI
• 10/29: Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA
• 10/30: Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
• 11/01: Ram’s Head Live, Baltimore, MD
• 11/02: Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ
• 11/03: Webster Hall, New York, NY
• 11/04: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
• 11/06: Toad’s Palace, New Haven, CT
• 11/10: Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
• 11/11: The Loft, Atlanta, GA
• 11/12: Rocketown, Nashville, TN
• 11/16: Downtown Brew, San Luis Obispo, CA
• 11/17: House of Blues, San Diego, CA
• 11/18: Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA
• 11/20: The Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
• 11/21: Karma, Victorville, CA
• 11/22: House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV
• 11/23: The Warfield, San Francisco, CA

10/18-11/02, 11/17-11/20, 11/22-11/23: w/Matisyahu, Chester French
11/03-11/12: w/Blue Scholars

Photo by Jake Trott.