Fear of Music - We Are Not The Enemy EP (Faster / Sony)
3/5
By: Dan Monsell
What's so interesting about Manchester quartet Fear of Music is not only are they the next bunch of young 'uns to make us feel great things must be achieved before the twenties hit; but that their brand of dramatic, theatrical, seventies rock music sets them apart as a group of youths walking to a very different beat. Fear of Music come across as the group of kids you knew at school who hung around playing Zeppelin and T-Rex covers and generally liked the kind of rock music that just hasn't been fashionable for decades. However, it isn't as simple as that, as this underlying seventies rock heartbeat has been well disguised by a penchant to create colossally big dramatic pop rock for the noughties, seeing the band sign to Sony last year.
With lead track 'We Are Not The Enemy', Fear of Music have succeeded in honing a dated seventies rock sound, never itself really subject to much of a rebirth, into something that works within a poppier indie-rock framework such as the major label sound of the Coldplays and Feeders of today. The glam rock stomp of the track is however still unmistakable, inducing a pretty uncool element to the band that at the very least helps in separating them out from the ramshackle wasters and indie-ravers dominating the fashion. However it is with the E.P.'s following tracks 'A Blueprint' and 'The Sheets Twist' that F.O.M. hint at a potential that would justify a fuss to be made. Singer Jo Rose's histrionics and the big shards of guitars echo the space-rock intent of Queen, or even at an almost Pink Floyd like element that shows an intelligent, progressive musical attitude.
It feels as if Fear of Music could go on to make delightfully large art-rock to put them in league with the likes of modern day super-rock heroes Muse, but it seems, in this early release at least, that something hasn't quite come together to make this an exciting enough record. The songs, while quite strong and so potentially different, end up sounding slightly like a vision unrealized, with nothing to go beyond a quick big-rock fix. It feels unfair to put it condescendingly down to a youthful lack of experience, but it does feel fair to say that there is a great potential that has not yet been fulfilled. In the end, the image of the big rock lovers with guitars in the corner at school fails to leave the mind, with songs that impact but don't do enough to stick. The only hope is that they can be given enough time to develop, in order to write the music that could see them reach their full potential.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment