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When I received the e-mail from Garrett Biedermann (Tenor Sax) letting me know about the new 4 point 0 record out called "Go Outside" my heart shot through my chest and I'm not ashamed to admit I flailed like an idiot and perhaps made a sound that is what I assume pure elation and psychitude sounds like. I stumbled upon 4 Point 0 on a MySpace crawl a while back and fell completely in love with their sick Ska style. In fact, if you look on my iTunes top 25 played, you will see right up near the top of the list two tracks from their previous record "The College Try" called "Rat Race" (167 plays), and "Satellite" (218 plays). The only thing that sucked was that it was late at night when I got the e-mail and my roommates were asleep, and this is definitely one record that I have GOT to play at top volume. But now my roommates are all at school, and I have the place to myself... sorry if you're still asleep neighbors, hope you enjoy the record!

It took me a few minutes of staring at the tracks before I mustered up the courage to click on the first one and start listening. 4 Point 0 has become such a strong staple of my music rotation, that I don't think I can handle this if it doesn't live up to the ridiculously high standard that I've set for them... but here goes nothing!

:58 seconds into the very first song "I Don't Belong" and all of my worries are subsided! This is exactly the band that I fell in love with! The first track is upbeat with driving brass and a totally kick-ass melody to sing along with. And sing I shall, loudly.

This record is exactly what Ska is supposed to be: a good time! It is physically impossible not to find yourself bopping along to the beat. Everything about this band is excellent! The vocals are quirky but fit the style of music so well. (Psst: Tom Egnoto, I have a secret to tell you... I am a MAJOR Ska fan... and you have got my favorite voice in the entire genre! You're so awesome.) The guitars and bass get you into a groove and keep you there the whole time, the drums add interesting beats to already intriguing lines and the entire brass section is so tight in a way that it's tough to find even in the major Ska bands.

I was talking last night to my friend about my trepidation in listening to this album and how I didn't think I could take it if it didn't live up to my standards bar, and we listened to "The College Try" so she could hear what I was talking about. I talked about how difficult it is to find new Ska bands to listen to, because Ska has turned into the butt of the music world joke, and as such, most bands who give Ska a try do it in a joking or mocking manner, and while that doesn't hurt my feelings any, it does make it frustrating to try to find new ska bands that DON'T treat it as a joke, and when I found 4 Point 0 that is exactly what I found. I love ska music, I always have, and I always will, and this band has quickly risen through the ranks of my favorite Ska bands to permanently lodge themselves in my top 5.

"Go Outside" is an awesome record! They have risen up to my standards level, grabbed the bar and annihilated it. If you're a fan of Ska music and you don't already know who 4 Point 0 is, you are doing yourself a grave injustice! In an interview I did with them a while ago, I described their sound as: "the horns from early Aquabats on a hot date with Lord Mike's Dirty Calypsonians, but somewhere along the date they met up with Lord Mike's Ex (clearly played in this scene by Buck-O-Nine) and they all three have a crazy wild night in a seedy hotel room which ends up producing Siamese twins who quite resemble The Pietasters and The Planet Smashers." I stick to that in a major way. They have such a mashup blend of different Ska styles in their sound that you just have to go listen to them yourself to get an accurate vibe.

My personal favorite tracks on the record are: I Don't Belong, That's Fine, A Quick Goodbye, and Black Thoughts. Although, every track of the record is awesome! It's rare that I find an entire record that I like every one of the tracks on it, but of the two records I have from 4 Point 0, they are two for two!

Ok, now seriously... someone come to New York with me, so I can see these guys do their stage-thing.

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