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

Flobots Flobots is an experimental hip hop 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 '' Figh ...

, released on March 16, 2010. It is the follow-up to 2007's '' Fight with Tools''. Work on the album began in 2009, and it was produced by Mario Caldato, Jr. (of

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

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 ...

who found it more meandering and preachy with its political leanings than its predecessor '' Fight with Tools''. 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, ...

'' 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 Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

and

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

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., or

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

, 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 r ...

'' 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." Julianna Reed of ''

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic (abbreviated as Sputnik) is a music website that publishes music reviews and news entries. The site hosts both professional and amateur content, covering metal, punk, indie, rock, hip-hop, pop and other styles. Its reviews are us ...

'' 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" was the first single from the album, released digitally on 2 February 2010.

Personnel

;Group members *

Jamie Laurie Flobots is an experimental music, experimental hip hop music, hip hop 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 wi ...

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates 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 genre and film scoring. ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

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 * Mus ...

*Andy Guererro –

guitars The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

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 u ...

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

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

, 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 ...

Nate Albert Nathan Robert Albert (born November 26, 1970) is an American music executive, songwriter, producer and guitar player. He is currently the President oGiant Music a division of The Azoff Company. He was previously the Executive Vice President of A ...

–

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for scouting, financing, and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters. It also acts as a l ...

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

audio mastering Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will ...

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

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

*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 vegetarian and straight edge. Early and personal life Mc ...

– guest vocals * 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.