Link to the album (via Dying Scene).
And if Neil Young's album sums up my summer, this other one has been my go-to recording for the best part of autumn-winter. Don't ask me why, but something in me connects a lot with this EP, the debut from LA's band Fare game. The genre is defined as "skate punk", something I don't know much about (the simple sight of a skate board causes me a concussion); to me this is simply great music, with great melodies, good vibe and energy, and a well chosen collection of songs; one of those albums where "one thing takes to another" nicely from one extreme to the other. I love the singer's voice, energetic and cocky at times, and yet with a certain "pensiveness" to the way that she sings that I really dig, and I like the timbre of the voice too. Usually, with beginner bands, you get one of two types; first type is an undecided first attempt, maybe full of promise but still hesitating at moments (notable examples: Slayer's "Show no mercy", Ministry -Al Jourgensen started doing new wave, with fake English accent and all, look it if you don't believe me!-). In other cases, however, there are bands that seem to come to life already "full fledged", with a very mature first album that shows clearly a direction (Boom, Led Zeppelin. Boom, The Doors. Boom, Queen. Boom, Jimmy Hendrix... Hello everybody, let's go...) This later case is what I find in this EP, which shows a lot of elaboration, gusto, and sense of unity in the selection of songs. For example, the first one, "Jealous bitch", opens with a guitar riff played in the low range, then the second time the riff comes, it adds a second guitar with a subtle "response" played in the high range. There are also exquisitely well arranged keyboards here and there, and the guitar work all through is in my view a demonstration of good taste and atmosphere, giving to each of the well crafted songs a particular "personality"; for example, in "30 sec song" they show that they can shred their butt off if need be... but they never overdo it - everything is at the service of the song. Historically, the explanation for this kind of so well developed first efforts was that the band had been touring for a while before recording, therefore having time to try stuff out and flesh out the songs a lot (this factor it usually followed, if the band is not careful, by the feared "second album syndrome"). The Dying Scene review says that the band has only been active for a few months, but that they have been pretty active months, so maybe that's why the songs sound so mature. There is only one thing that is for me a bit of a "weird point" in the album flow -and here, this is strictly this one particular human being very subjective-. I love the song "Band of brothers", an invitation to artistic creation ("Grab a pen/Write it down..."), in the vein for example of The Who's "Your guitar and your pen". The strange thing with this song for me is that I love both the verse and the chorus, but I find them like belonging to two different worlds... the verse is more "sinister" and in-yer-face, while the chorus is melodic and easy going... It's like having a pet that has a duck head and rhino feet; still it's your pet, but it's weird... :) The EP closes with the song that's called like the band, and if I had to pick only one it would perhaps be my favorite (because I'm a sentimental). Also, I'm more of a moon than a sun kind of guy, and the "shoot the moon" in the chorus, with the rhythm going down for a moment, is for me one of those perfect moments you get in music sometimes, a bit like a lullaby, but at the same time very energetic, but at the same time full of hope... (you can only get to a certain point when you try to describe music with words...) I hope this band perseveres in the upcoming years and gives us more great music like this EP. I wish them all the success they deserve and, according to the review, are already reaping.
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Nacho Jordi
I have a guitar and I'm gonna use it Archives
September 2018
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