"Dance or Die" (The Secret Handshake Han Valen Remix) by Family Force 5, Monday, May 3, 2021

In 2006, Family Force 5 debuted with their brand of 'crunk,' rap-rock punk that was comical, dancey, awkward, and overall unique. You'd be hard-pressed to find much Christian Rock on Business Up Front/Party in the Back. Most of the songs are about dancing in the club and falling in love. While pretty innocent, it was one of the first times a Christian Rock band invited its listeners to the club. Known for their outrageous live shows and touring with the likes of Cobra Starship, 30h!3, Cash Cash, Breathe Carolina, and The Secret Handshake, the band took a stylistic left turn when they released their sophomore record on Tooth & Nail Records in 2008. Dance or Die has much less crunk, more singing, and fewer joke songs. The band started taking themselves seriously on this record, but looking back, I wonder who it was for?

THEY TRY TO TAKE OUR LIVES, BUT WE WILL SURVIVE. Family Force 5 is a rock band, but in their live shows they functioned as a boyband. In 2006-2010, boy band music was pretty scarce from the American music scene. There was the Jonas Brothers, but they were more like Hanson than Backstreet Boys. Meanwhile in the UK, there was Westlife, and South Korea never stopped generating boy (and girl) bands. The sounds of Westlife and South Korean bands evolved beyond the late '90s teen pop sound. The boyband evolution in the UK and South Korea, though, probably didn't have much influence on the  five "Kountry Gentlemen" from Atlanta, GA. The band members of FF5 had stage names and personas, nerdy music videos, and hip hop influences. However, the hip-hop would be temporarily dropped for their '80s dance pop follow up, Dance or Die. Functioning as a boy band on their second record, Dance or Die was a somewhat more serious album. Songs like "Dance or Die," "Rip it Up" and "How in the World" offered little comedy [with the exception of "Rip it Up" (The Pragmatic Remix) from Dance or Die with a Vengeance] and songs like "Get Your Back Off the Wall," "Party Foul," "D-I-E 4 Y-O-U" and "Fever" only containing exaggerated lyrics. 

TRANSMISSION RADIO, RESPOND IF YOU'RE ALIVE. Ultimately, Dance or Die, a straight-up dance record, would not be the direction the band would keep. The band's III album returned to the silliness of their debut, but lost a lot of fans with the lyrics. Then lead singer Solomon "Soul Glow Activatur" Olds left the band and the band just before the band's leaving Tooth & Nail. The band's fourth album, 2014's Time Stands Still,  flirted more with EDM. Eventually, all but two of the original members were left, causing the now duo to change their name officially to FF5, their long-used acronym. So who is Dance or Die for? It's certainly not sexy music. The mullet wearing Family boys aren't winding up on any middle school girl's bedroom wall. The voices of Olds and company are more serious, but still sound pretty jokey. And yet, the amount of collaborators who came together for Dance or Die with a Vengeance is impressive. There are remixes by 30h!3, Cobra Starship, David Crowder, Jasen Rauch (Red/Breaking Benjamin), and guest appearances by Matt Theissen and The Secret Handshake. Who is this album for? Your girlfriend will probably hate it. It's guilty pleasure bro rock, and it's getting more and more obscure with age. Still, it's kind of fun to listen to awkward dance music sometimes. Just as long as it doesn't remind you of a sixth grade dance.

Official Music Video:

Remix:

 

Read “Dance or Die (The Secret Handshake Han Valen Remix)” by Family Force 5 on Genius