By Adam Bowman

To be an Armenian rock band in these times can be both dangerous and rewarding. After the events of September 11th, 2001, a lot of people had to re-adjust themselves to music and bands they had known or loved before...System of a Down comes to mind. Another band that suffered from this diffraction of viewpoints was The Apex Theory, who are now pheonixing from underneath those people who continue on with paranoia.

A combination of deep meaning and positive vibes is the order of the day in "Topsy-Turvy", not to mention some impressive music. Drummer Sammy Watson had his work cut out for him on this one, as every song on the album has some lemon twist in its time signature (in layman's terms, some guitar parts don't last the same amount of time as other riffs, thereby making the drummer alter his drumbeat in order to fit in), and Andy Khachaturian's melodies blend in very well in most cases, despite falling too far behind the rest of the music in some cases (a nice change of pace though, I may add). Art Karamian's affinity for slides adds a sense of slipperiness in his guitar playing, something that adds to the flavor and groove of songs like the "Mucus Shifters" and their debut single "Shh..(Hope Diggy)".

Overall, the entire album is a breeding ground for insanely tight rhythms with an Mediterranian groove. It may be a hair softer than System Of A Down, but by no means is it inferior music. All twelve songs share common characteristics, but maintain enough of a variety to keep listeners coming back...never mind the fact that it's just down-right funny to walk up to one of your friends, look at them and go "Ras ta dan te!"