Michael Szul reviews Fight With Tools by Flobots from the Key 23 archives.

So I’m driving down the road listening to your stereotypical alternative rock station when they decide to play a song called Handlebars from a group named the Flobots. The first ten seconds sounded ridiculous, yet catchy; then the song broke out into rap music and I was totally mesmerized by the combination of intellectual lyrics and rock/rap beats. I was hooked.

I immediately turned on my laptop – the first chance I got – and previewed the album off of Amazon.com’s MP3 Downloads. More of the same. I liked what I was hearing. I bought and downloaded the entire album.

This is powerful rap music with a meaning. It’s not gansta rap. They aren’t rapping about money, guns, drugs and women, or killing people (over money, guns, drugs and women). It’s almost like a cross between the political rap days of Public Enemy, the thought-provoking lyrics of Mike Shinoda and the youthful enthusiasm of Gym Class Heroes.

This is an album everyone should listen to – whether you’re a rap fan or not.