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Their newly released second effort, Miniature Portraits, seems to have sacrificed a bit of the funk for groove, but that ain't necessarily a bad thing. There are still no vocals on the new disc but the bounding bass of the first disc has been replaced by a wider variety of instrumentation and more "spacey" jams. It sounds as if 5ive Style has been listening to a lot by their Chicago counterparts Tortoise.

All in all a good CD, however, I highly recommend you check out the first album (or some of their SubPop singles, some of which include vocals!) before you purchase Miniature Portraits.


I can't believe the extreme negative comments!   July 12, 2000
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

There are some angry reviews here for this and the first 5ive Style album and I can't understand why. These 4 guys are original, and these days that's a hard thing to say. I've seen them live a few times now, and I have even a higher opinion of them because of it. They know what they're doing, they can play like mad, and I just love their music. If you're a fan of Tortoise, Isotope 217 and the other Chicago-style post-rock bands, then check 5ive Style out. If you're into Britney Spears and her ilk, look elsewhere.


Ugh.   May 17, 2000
 1 out of 10 found this review helpful

The album showed marginal promise, though it was more prone to eclecticism for the sake of variations, and not overall tonality. Then I recently saw them in concert. What a mess. Some bands simply cannot recreate the energy or tightness that the studio can synthetically provide, which naturally leads to the logical conclusion that their "talent" is created on a 16-track, and not in their collective soul. All in all, a huge disappointment, fortunately, groups like 5ive Style are a dime a dozen, and there are plenty to fill the void.


This is good stuff.   December 16, 1999
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This album blurs categorical boundaries with effortless grace (forget the post-rock labels, or any other label for that matter), and it stands as a record that's simply a pleasure to experience, over and over again. I don't think "Father Time" has failed to bring a smile to my face. The musicianship is impressive and tight, but the groove is never sacrificed. Not as hellraisingly funky as their last one, but it's just as much fun.


Yeah, but check this out   April 7, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Pretty good, but buy the "Heroic Doses" CD. It sounds like the exact same band, but its much better. Every song on it but one is awesome.