This is a review of an album, not a group. Five O'Clock Shadow has undergone serious change over the last year or two, and I've heard only some of their incarnations. So So There may or may not represent anything like what FOCS sounds like now. Which could take the group either way. So There is a good disc that never approaches greatness.
Production is good, tuning is great, everything sounds nice.
But nice is as good as it gets for the soloists and most of the songs. And the vocal percussion is downright dippy - sounds like a vocal drum machine, not a vocal percussion kit. What FOCS lacked on this disc was a wailer - a standout soloist, a tune that transcends nice and sticks in your head. So There was the beautiful, sans-v.p. Tribute , which bears much more resemblance to a semi-traditional vocal group than the pop group FOCS is trying so hard to become.