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As I witnessed the final moments of Five Iron Frenzy’s last concert here in Colorado, the thought of Reese Roper (the former front man of FIF) hitting the road with another band and a new album was merely a question blowing in the wind.  Less than a year later, Reese is at it again and hasn't seemed to miss a beat. 

It’s as if Reese has raised Five Iron Frenzy from the dead, except this time around he picked up new band members, dropped the horns, and grabbed the synthesizer.  Roper, the new band mothering Reese’s signature vocals, sounds similar to Reese’s other project, Brave Saint Saturn, but more upbeat.  Brace Yourself for the Mediocre is the band’s debut album and will rock your socks off, whether you are a Five Iron fan or not. 

Before I got the album, I had the opportunity to see Roper live at a local venue.  I was anxious to see whether Reese could pull it off again - that is, forming a band that gets the same enthusiastic response from the crowd as he had with FIF.  Not only did Roper’s live performance meet the fans’ expectations (I’m generalizing based on observation and conversations), it exceeded them! The same goes for the album. Reese took the energy and excitement from the albums of Five Iron and successfully poured it into Roper. From beginning to end, Roper whips out great song after great song.   “Hello Lamewads” starts the album off with a punch and, if you haven’t already braced yourself, the rest of the album might knock you off your feet. 

Roper covers the full spectrum of lyrical content – very silly to very serious (typically Reese for ya).  The band includes humorous songs, like “You’re With Stupid” and the cover of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” (it's actually quite good if you look past the fact that Reese is singing a mega-hit country song), while other songs are saturated in meaning and Christian principles.  In the past, Reese has made very powerful ballads that have impacted the spiritual lives of many people (like Dandelions or Every New Day), and Roper is walking in the same direction.  "Amplify", for example, challenges people to loudly proclaim Jesus as Lord of their lives.

One of Roper’s most incredible pieces is the final song on their album, “In Excelsis Deo,” which also happens to be the song they ended their concert with. Don’t be fooled, this is not the Christmas carol – this is a powerful song the combines a strong tune with touching lyrics, all powered by Reese’s remarkable vocals:

This wooden soul of mine
It cannot ever climb
From places it has fallen
In between where light can shine
It never falls in line
It barely has a spine
Like branches severed from the vine
Like it was faulty by design
And now your mercy lights up my dark eyes
Your brilliant hope now lifts my falling skies
And I'm the object of your affection
You loved me still in my imperfection

The sun will shine on winter snow
And shadows fade in Excelsis Deo

Sarah Verno 12/28/2004