Too Cruel For School (As Cruel As School Children - Gym Class Heroes)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	As Cruel As School Children - Gym Class Heroes
Date:	26/03/08 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some slickly produced Hip Hop music, Gym Class Heroes never fail to impress.

Disadvantages: Some of the music may be a little too commercial in sound for some.

Hip Hop band Gym Class Heroes formed in New York back in 1997. In December 2001 they independently released their first album '...For The Kids', it was not until 2005 however that they would release their second; 'The Papercut Chronicles' through Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance. 'As Cruel As School Children' is their third studio album to date and was released in 2006, again through Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance. The album contains fifteen tracks and the track titles are set out like a school day. Starting with '1st Period' and ending with 'Detention', this is one day of school that I certainly shan't be forgetting in a hurry.

If you're familiar with the work of Gym Class Heroes then you'll know that they have a tendency to borrow heavily from other artists. 'Clothes Off' for example takes its original hook from Jermaine Stewart's hit single 'We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off', whilst 'Cupid's Chokehold' takes the music and chorus from Supertramp's 'Breakfast in America'. Gym Class Heroes have an incredible knack for taking an already infectious hook and turning it into something far, far greater. Both of these tracks go down with me extremely well, I can have no complaints with their take on the tracks and they certainly make them their own with a decent hip hop injection. 'Cupid's Chokehold' is in fact one of my favourite tracks from this album, and I am a huge fan of the way in which the vocals of Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump are implemented into the mix in 'Clothes Off'.

Gym Class Heroes prove themselves to be particularly impressive on this release, I am not often a fan of Hip Hop but definitely appreciate the sound that Gym Class Heroes produce. Their music is fresh and exciting, an energetic and interesting Hip Hop sound which is great fun to listen to and never will it leave you disappointed. There are a good few amusing tracks to keep you entertained here, 'Scandalous Scholastics' being one of them; a true tale of an inappropriate student-teacher 'relationship'. The lyrics to this one should have you smiling, the tune is excellent and 'Scandalous Scholastics' is an all in all immense track. Gym Class Heroes always aim to please and for the most part here they do.

With its lyrical subject of MySpace, 'New Friend Request' provides the album with one of its stand out moments. It is another greatly amusing number in which vocalist Travis McCoy impresses massively with his awesome MC approach. It is without doubt the vocals that make this track, Travis McCoy has an exceptional talent at what he does and spitting killer lyrics certainly seems to be his forte. Throughout this album it is the slickness with which the vocals are pulled off that really appeals to me and makes this album so enjoyable. Without Travis McCoy at the centre of their sound, Gym Class Heroes would be nowhere near as effective and excellent a band as they are.

Much like Patrick Stump's inclusion in the track 'Clothes Off', William Beckett of The Academy Is... is another vocalist that makes a guest appearance on this release. '7 Weeks' features a sweetly spoken vocal from the man, and once more I feel that this is something that is pulled off to an extremely high standard. His vocals are moulded finely into the sound and you truly feel as though they belong there. The track does not sound at all out of place on this release and Beckett's soft vocal tone is complimented by some beautiful guitar work which really helps the track to stand out. The album is not at all short of strong points, and '7 Weeks' is certainly one of them. It provides for easy and entertaining listening, it is a softly sung and extremely heartfelt number in which you can truly feel the passion that has gone into the creation of the track.

Every so often throughout this release is a spoken interlude. These interludes work well I feel and break up the music nicely. Sometimes when albums contain interludes such as this I fast switch off and find them to be extremely unnecessary and in fact quite irritating. This is certainly not the case here and whenever a spoken interlude cuts in I am never anything but impressed. The album actually ends with one of these interludes in the form of 'Sloppy Love Jingle Part 3', it brings the album to an abrupt but greatly impressive ending. The third and final 'Sloppy Love Jingle' interlude certainly doesn't disappoint at the death here and is a welcome ending to an album that is greatly enjoyable throughout.

'As Cruel As School Children' is an album that I would wholeheartedly recommend to all. In this album the band possess a great strength and are greatly effective in their approach as they charm their way through this release with a great level of expertise. Gym Class Heroes make a genre that is not usually my sort of sound seem fresh and exciting to me, the music is terrific fun to listen to and vocalist Travis McCoy has a voice that suits the sound that the band are producing perfectly. As this is not the sort of music that I would generally listen to, I feel that there will be a lot of people out there that will appreciate the sound that Gym Class Heroes produce regardless of musical preference. Gym Class Heroes are an extremely well established band and in this album they show exactly what they are capable of; producing fantastic Hip Hop flavours which are never short of enthralling and always exciting to listen to. If you've not already done so then make sure that you give this band a listen, chances are that you'll be greatly impressed with what you hear.

Summary: Gym Class Heroes are an excellent band and with this album they more than prove their worth.