Damn, I was fooled. I thought I was really going to like this. The design uses minimal colors and high contrast imagery of trees and such for a really clean, crisp presentation that I quite enjoy. It basically screams moody, somber indie rock, which is something I'm always looking for more of. Well, this is definitely in the indie vein, and it has its moody moments, but overall I'm simply not into it. 16 generally short, somewhat raw tracks of back and forth poppy/morose indie rock that admittedly has a little bit of a different sound to it, but... there's something about it that doesn't sit well with me. Part of it's the recording, which is decent but unbalanced, where some of the tones sound less natural and therefore out of place. But other than that I'm not sure. I guess I'm not really into the fact that some of the rock elements are kind of a weird college rock kind of thing or something, you know, like... it kind of sounds like indie folks covering the Steve Miller Band or something ("Going Down"). A lot of the stuff just sounds like something that would be big with the college rock crowd or something ... a party band that plays these weird little songs that are neither consistently poppy nor depressing, but walk a strange line between the two, so there are both catchy moments and those areas that feel darker and more atmospheric. Most of the material revolves around clean guitars, simple drumbeats, and roaming basslines. But the lead guitar tone annoys me almost every time it pops up (often sounding like a direct recording and clashing with the fluidity elsewhere), and I also find the bass tone to be overly defined, so a lot of those basslines, while damn important, become distracting and overpowering. There are some keyboards involved as well, and that's another element that rubs me the wrong way. I simply don't like 'em. The vocals are promising but take some getting used to, and I feel like the singing needs a little more work to really nail it. But the music isn't the greatest match for the dude's voice either. And what's up the new wave-ish stuff that creeps into "Intentions"? Not bad, but... it's a little out there compared to the other tunes. And what about "Take the City"? Eight minutes that has more of a soft, droning quality to it, eventually building into a noisy wall of synth drones, distorted bass, and layered guitars/vocals? Lyrically most of the material seems personal but is open ended enough to be fairly open, which tends to be a plus. "Go it alone on a Sunday night a voice in my memory carving through electric light barefoot in the past walking on glass your sudden interest will never last..." Damn, what can I say? I wanted to like this, and I can cite potential here, but this one's not doing anything for me. 16 songs is way too many, too. They ought to trim that back and focus on writing songs that are a little more fleshed out and fluidly emotional in tone. I feel like both the vocals and music have strengths, but they're not exactly working together in many cases.
[Pop Faction]
Running time - 49:38, Tracks: 16
[Notable tracks: Oleander, Go it Alone, Take the City]
Pop Faction - http://www.popfaction.com
