I’ll be honest with you, the Indie scene is not something that does that much for me. Back in the days of Oasis and Blur, there were a lot of bands that I liked around, but as I’ve got a little older it seems to mean less and less to me. I guess the want to ‘fit in’ has waned, and as my tastes become more diverse, trawling through hours of similar music is less appealing. I’m not even really sure what Indie means anymore, the definition seems to be more and more diluted. The genre seems to be fairly stagnant, with a few really great bands showing up every now and then to ensure it’s still a big deal.So why am I writing about it? Well, I’m not one to write something that I don’t mean (or worse, lie), but I’m also not one to refuse a favour to a mate. So when my good friend John Chantarasak got in touch about putting a little write up together for his band’s new EP, of course I was going to. This, after all, is a man who sat at a drum kit behind me at short notice, with only two rehearsals and little reward. A good man.
It’s a hard thing to try and be objective about art when it has been authored by someone you know. It takes a skilled critic to separate personal feelings from good critique, and a good writer to differentiate these things and produce a decent piece about it. Needless to say, I am neither.
Stop it, stop it, you’re too kind!
But seriously.
The Fez EP is a collection of 6 snappy songs that showcase the band’s strongest suits. If you’re looking for the fabled three-and-a-half minute guitar-pop tune (pop ain’t a dirty word, get over it), then this is a good place to be looking. There is a little blur between songs, but after a few listens they do stand apart – they have enough hooks and personality to avoid melding together – and they sit nicely together, the running order feels natural. For a CD looking to introduce you to Fez, this succeeds.
The collection has been entirely self-produced with equipment all sourced themselves – that is not in a studio – and it has to be said, to good effect. Considering that this must be one of their first goes at producing a selection of tracks to a good quality, the success is marked. I will admit that I’m a bit of a sonic obsessive, so the lack of mid and bass on some of the tracks (did you mix this on headphones, boys?) hit me. But this isn’t a problem that can’t be fixed by a bit of re-mixing, and the recordings still sound a hell of a lot better than many other examples of a comparable scale. And at the end of the day, they bring across the songs clear enough to give you a feeling of what this band is about.
The lyrics don’t always jump out at you all the time (that isn’t a criticism) but when they do, there are some real catchy little bastards in there (that isn’t a criticism either), notably the “Rattle on, rattle on” refrain from Low Light. I’m a sucker for a line that don’t rhyme, and that one got me. It’s been all up in my head. The fact that there are no lyrics that stick out for being bad is impressive – I can normally find something to piss me off in most songs. I’m not saying this is lyrical genius, but the lyrics don’t annoy me, and they sit well in the songs. They do their job.
The music quickly establishes itself, and by the end of the disc you can identify a handful of influences that have shaped Fez’s sound. The Strokes were probably the first to occur, but it’s a nice blend of a whole lot of other stuff too that seems to range from garage rock to bigger stadium acts. The music remains energetic for the duration, and there is a good sense of dynamics, with the verses and choruses generally leading together smoothly and pleasingly.
Music like this, though, is best heard live, and so if you listen to Fez and like what you hear, I implore you to get to one of their gigs. And I don’t say that just because I know ‘em, but because when someone is bashing a drum kit and someone else is shouting and some other guys are making a racket with some guitars, the best place to hear it is stood in the same room. If it’s really good, you might get all tingly. And that’s what you’re after.
Have a listen to Fez on their MySpace page, which also lists their gigs.
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