Charge!! is the fourth studio album by American comedy rock band The Aquabats, released on June 7, 2005 by Nitro Records.
Following a nearly six year semi-hiatus which resulted in numerous line-up changes, Charge!! was The Aquabats' first studio album to showcase the band's radical shift in sound, featuring a reduced five-member line-up and a reinvented musical style of new wave-influenced rock and punk music. Released to largely positive reviews and several successful international tours, Charge!! effectively revitalized The Aquabats' then-stalling career into the new century.
Overview
Following their dismissal from Goldenvoice Records in 2000, The Aquabats entered a lengthy period of relative inactivity, bringing much of their touring and recording plans to a standstill and resulting in the eventual departure of several of the band's key members, including the loss of their once prominent horn section. In 2004, The Aquabats independently released the EP Yo! Check Out This Ride! in an attempt to generate label interest, successfully signing to Nitro Records later in the year and commencing work on a new studio album in the fall. Despite this fortuitous turn of events, the band were still uncertain of their future following their semi-hiatus and radical shift in line-up. Singer Christian Jacobs (The MC Bat Commander) later commented that the band thought Charge! would possibly be their final album together.
While the lyricism of Charge!! continues in the typical Aquabats tradition of comedic self-referential narratives and pop culture and geek culture-oriented satire, the music introduced a bold new sound for the band, featuring a predominant focus on guitar and keyboard-driven rock, punk and Devo-influenced new wave rather than the ska-driven eclecticism of their earlier albums. Notably, Charge!! was the first Aquabats studio album not to feature brass instruments, indeed one of the most remarked upon aspects of the album by reviewers; in a 2006 interview, Jacobs stated that the band attempted to write a saxophone solo into one of the album's songs but ultimately felt it sounded too out of place.
Up until his return to the band in 2024 for their album Finally!, Charge! would be the last Aquabats album to feature longtime guitarist Corey Pollock (Chainsaw) as an official member, as he would eventually leave the band in 2006 as a result of their increased touring activity interfering with his day job. However, Pollock continued to frequently perform with the band live as a second guitarist and contributed guitar tracks to nearly all of their subsequent studio material.
Release and promotion
On April 1, 2005, Charge!! was announced for release in two months' time. Alongside this, the album's track listing and artwork, and an MP3 of "Fashion Zombies" was posted online. They offered a contest that whoever could get their local radio station to play the song would win an all expenses paid dinner with The Aquabats. The prize was claimed after a fan got the song airtime on Los Angeles' KROQ-FM and was taken to a T.G.I. Friday's.
Charge!! planned for release on June 14, 2005 through Nitro Records, before it was released a week earlier on June 7. It charted modestly upon release, reaching #21 on Billboards Top Heatseekers. Copies of the album were packaged with Aquabats trading cards featuring pictures of the band and song lyrics. Although the cards were produced in sets of thirteen, each CD came with only two, with an insert humorously instructing fans to buy more CDs in order to collect them all.
In promotion of the album, the music video for "Fashion Zombies!" was released online on July 13, 2005, and on September 23, 2005, The Aquabats made their debut appearance on national television on the G4 program Attack of the Show, performing "Fashion Zombies!" and "Nerd Alert!".
Touring
In June and July 2005, the Aquabats embarked on a twelve-week tour of the US, dubbed the Teenage Pajamas From Outer Space tour, which was supported by the Epoxies and the Phenomenauts. Following this, they toured in August 2005 with the Eyeliners, the Phenomenauts and Time Again. In December 2005, the band played a short series of holiday shows with Valient Thorr and Goons of Doom. In May 2006, following the album's reissue, the Aquabats went on the This Better Work Or We Are Dead Tour, with Streetlight Manifesto and No Trigger supporting the West Coast dates and Whole Wheat Bread and The Aggrolites supporting the East Coast. In January 2007, the band announced they were finally wrapping up their touring to start work on a new studio album, performing their "last" show at The Glass House club in Pomona on January 27, where they played Charge!! in its entirety.