The world of punk is one dominated in the main part by the male of the species. There are very few female fronted bands that manage to make a name for themselves in the scene. It takes a strong character and a good voice to stand out, and these are qualities that Save Ferris‘ Mo Powell possesses in abundance. It was her stage presence, coupled with the ska-punk sound of the band, that gained Save Ferris a number of admirers following their festival appearances in the UK last summer. ‘Modified’ is the bands second album, and was released in 1999.
‘Modified’, as the title suggests, sees the band adapting the solid ska-punk fare that was evident on their promising 1997 debut ‘It Means Everything’. However, change is not necessarily a good thing. Especially if that change sees a talented group bordering on No Doubt territory. That’s right folks; this album sees Save Ferris modifying ska-punk into ska-pop.
From the very first song, ‘Turn It Up’, it is very evident that the bands sound has drastically altered. It resembles the sugary ska-pop started with No Doubt‘s ‘Tragic Kingdom’ era. To be fair to the band, there is a lot of ska on the album, with songs like ‘I’m Not Cryin’ For You’ and ‘The Only Way To Be’. The problem is that these songs lack any power, pace and aggression; too much sugar, not enough substance.
When the band do go for power pace and aggression they manage to produce a couple of good ska-punk songs. ‘Angry Situation’ and ‘Mistaken’ are easily the standout tracks on the album, and serve as a great example of what the band are capable of.
However, these few good moments are contrasted by the simply awful. ‘One More Try’ is appalling. It is a short nonsense song that borders on dance! The final track on the album ‘Let Me In’ is nothing more than a vehicle to showcase Mo’s voice and does nothing for the band at all.
It is a shame when a band as talented as Save Ferris produce an album as poor as this. They could be one of the best female-fronted bands in the ska-punk scene. However, to get there they will have to seriously rethink the disastrous musical direction they took with this album. If you crave some female voiced ska-punk then my advice would be to stick with the bands vastly superior first album. Just make sure you steer well clear of this.
Mark