I suspect there are a lot of people who want to hear this album. Undeniably, Loyal Frisby are going to be lumped into the emo category. We're not talking the current incarnation of emo, which is more akin to Unwritten Law and New Found Glory. This is midwestern emo-sounding rock-n-roll, upbeat and energetic yet filled with emotion and sensitivity. There, I just turned off a huge portion of our readership. So let me say that Gives a Damn is a damn good album, and it isn't all Get Up Kids-style wanna-be rock. In fact, for as many songs that pick up where Four Minute Mile left off, the band demonstrates a more back-to-basics rock sound on others. The singer - whose name, Loyal Frisbie, was the obvious impetus for the band's name - doesn't whine but has a very accessible and strong voice with a hint of urgency at just the right moments. The rhythm is passable, the guitars upbeat and driving. In short, the band plays tight, catchy, emo-driven rock, pure and simple. From the opening line "Life has a lesson" that kicks off "The Triumph & Tragedy of Being On Your Own," I'm taken back to 1998 and my first discovery of bands that were making high-energy rock while singing about real life and real emotions. Think Four Minute Mile-era Get Up Kids, with a tad more pop and vigor. Much less emo-sounding, "Not Heaven" is a poppy number, playful and endearing with hints of punk-rock attitude in the chorus. "Come Back Kyle" is more of a ballad, with the singer evoking a bit of a growl at times as keyboards help drive this quieter, more emotional song. Back to their up-beat form, "The King," as you'd think, rocks. It's catchy and up-beat, not quite pop-punk but much more aggressive than traditional emo with a lighter, playful sound. On "I Heard You Like to Rock," the drums go crazy, big and booming, while the chorus is so upbeat and sing-able that you won't get the song out of your head. More edgy, "200k Denial Run" has a bit of the Gainesville sound to it, a bit heavier yet still catchy. This is the debut album from a very talented Florida band. I wouldn't be surprised at all if these catchy and fun 12 songs are just the preliminary offering from a band with even greater things in their future...This album is worth many listens and some fun thrashing around in your living room, just like you did when you first heard the Get Up Kids.

Loyal Frisby brings to the table an off-kilter rock with vocals reminiscent of the late Sicko, dare I say a borderline folk/punk sound. The band sat down at the famed DC Inner Ear Studio with a host of players to contribute a variety of instruments giving the record a very substantial sound. "Gives A Damn" is laced with poppy hooks, odd changes, and good old fun; "I Heard You Like To Rock" and "Not Heaven" are shining examples of just that. The lengthy "Come Back Kyle" and "The Fever" show Frisby's diversity and keeps the album fresh. There are some seriously decent tracks on Gives A Damn. So, if your looking for a refreshing change from bloodcurdling hardcore check out Loyal Frisby.

The Florida local scene is full up of all kinds of bands signed to all kinds of labels. Many of these bands are built on the same punk influence that limits their creativity and hinders the possibility of a more expansive and receptive scene crowd. Then again, there are a few patriot bands that break the mold and have successfully spawned a sound all their own. With hard work and their latest release, “Gives a Damn”, Loyal Frisby has conquered the latter of the two. The band’s vocals are the most prominent on the album as far as the sound goes and it’s a little rough to listen to at first. As the album played on it sunk in a little more with each track, that vocal style is intentional and is as unique as they come. To describe them in the least I’ll tell you to think Fugazi’s attitude, like in “Girls Are Bad”, with Midtowns anthem like sound found in songs like “The Triumph & Tragedy of Being on Your Own” and “I Heard You Like to Rock”. All twelve songs on the album take on a totally different personality, all being Loyal Frisby’s sound none the less, through the instrumentals on the album. “200k Denial Run” is one of the many creative power pop songs that mix sounds of the Strokes’ mechanical drum tempos along with other creative sources like hints of Jimmy Eat World(think Clarity) and The Get Up Kids. “The Reason” is the one song that caught my attention the most on the album, though it wasn’t as loud as many of the songs it was powerful all the same. Its fitted between two very different songs, one being very busy and loud and the other being “I Don’t Have the Words”, a very sincere and mellow song, bringing a sort of instrumental equilibrium to the track list. As for the album’s sound, it’s clean like you wouldn’t believe. It is instrumentally immaculate and the vocals are untouchable. Take notice as the album draws to an end how the songs start to flow into each other. From this album I can tell that the band is very serious about their music but still manages to have all the fun at the same time. They keep it creative and real and but stable enough to be taken seriously if that’s what they wanted. I’ve only had the album for a few weeks but already it’s become a favorite and I can’t wait to see what Frisby has to offer in the future. Order some CD’s, they are honestly worth checking out.

"Gives a Damn" is a wonderful compilation of songs that fans have come to love from this ecclectic-off sounding band. The lead singer has a wonderfully high voice that loops you in and out of his harmonies with a symposium of an emotional roller coaster ride, and then energy as he bursts out in songs such as 200k Denial Run and my other favorite, Like to Rock. The cd even breaks things up with a steel drum that makes a pleasant atmosphere just in time to blow you away with the last song's lyric that happens to give me the chills : "They say I'm blind, but I stare anyway! They say I'm blind, but I stare anyway!" I'm so happy with this cd that I've played through it several times, and I hope you will seek out this rare find as well .