''Survival Story'' is the second studio album by

Flobots Flobots is an experimental rap rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2005 by Jamie Laurie. The band's origins date back 5 years earlier to a similar project by Laurie. Flobots found mainstream success with their major label debut ''Fight ...

, released on March 16, 2010. It is the follow-up to 2007's ''

Fight with Tools ''Fight with Tools'' is the debut album by Flobots, originally released in October 2007 and re-released on May 20, 2008. The album was recorded in 2007 around the band's home state of Colorado. ''Fight with Tools'' received a mildly positive rece ...

''. Work on the album began in 2009, and it was produced by Mario Caldato, Jr. (of

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

fame). The album was met with mixed reviews from critics who commented on the band's political commentary being more preachy than their previous album.

Critical reception

''Survival Story'' garnered a mixed reception from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

who found it more meandering and preachy with its political leanings than its predecessor ''

''. Mike Schiller of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' criticized the album for falling into the preachy side of delivering political messages that similar acts like

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

and

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

tend to avoid, concluding that "''Survival Story'' is Just Another Rap-Rock Record, something you've probably heard if you ever listened to

P.O.D. P.O.D., an initialism for Payable on Death, is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992 and based in San Diego, California. The band's line-up consists of drummer and rhythm guitarist Wuv Bernardo, vocalist Sonny Sandoval, bassist Traa ...

, or

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

, or Limp effing Bizkit. It's trying to say something, but it's failing, and all we end up hearing is noise." Nate Adams of No Ripcord also commented on the band's similarities to Rage Against the Machine, criticizing them for delivering unfocused and vague political commentary marketed to rap-rock fans in the teenage demographic. Eddie Fleisher of ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' praised the group's two MCs for their vocal performances melding well with Mario Caldato, Jr.'s production, saying that "Those looking for another 'Handlebars' may be disappointed–''Survival Story'' is more mature effort, showing that Flobots' best material may be yet to come." Jacob Royal of Sputnikmusic praised the musicianship throughout the album for experimenting with different sounds within its rap-rock parameters while still being able to deliver tracks with political commentary, saying that "''Survival Story'' is an enjoyable album, and old-school fans of Flobots will definitely find reasons to be hooked to it for a long time."

Track listing

Singles

White Flag Warrior "White Flag Warrior" is the official first single from Flobots' album '' Survival Story''. The song features a guest appearance from Tim McIlrath, lead singer of band Rise Against. It is about the U.S. troops and war. It reached No. 22 on the ' ...

" was the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album, released digitally on 2 February 2010.

Personnel

;Group members *

Jamie Laurie Flobots is an experimental rap rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2005 by Jamie Laurie. The band's origins date back 5 years earlier to a similar project by Laurie. Flobots found mainstream success with their major label debut ''Fight ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, bass,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

*Andy Guererro –

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

*Kenny Ortiz – drums *Brer Rabbit – vocals, songwriter *Mackenzie Roberts –

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, background vocals *Jesse Walker – bass ;Additional *Omar Al-Joulani –

booking Booking may refer to: * Making an appointment for a meeting or gathering, as part of event planning/scheduling * The intake or admission process into a prison or psychiatric facility. * ''Booking'' (manhwa), a Korean comics anthology magazine pub ...

Nate Albert Nathan Albert (born 1970) is an American music executive, songwriter, producer and guitar player. He is currently the Executive Vice President of A&R at Warner Records a division of Warner Music Group. He was previously Executive Vice President o ...

–

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...

* Mario Caldato, Jr. – producer *Corrie Christopher – booking *Chris Gehringer –

audio mastering Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via met ...

*Michele Goldberg – artists and repertoire *Kristina Grossman – artists and repertoire *J.J. Italiano –

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

*Tom MacKay – artists and repertoire *

Tim McIlrath Timothy James McIlrath (born November 3, 1978) is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of the punk rock band Rise Against. He is vegan and straight edge. Early and personal life McIlr ...

–

guest vocals In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

* Matt Morris – guest vocals *Jonathan Till –

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2010 albums Flobots albums Universal Republic Records albums Albums produced by Mario Caldato Jr.