Early Fragments

British band Fear of Men capitalize on the current trend of 80’s nostalgia with an incredibly solid set of singles compiled over their young existence. Although their sound is definitely a direct offspring of a specific era and sound (i.e. The Smiths), they manage to make it fresh with great song structure and philosophical lyrics (I mean they quote Sartre, how cool is that?). Pick any track at random, each one is a gem.
Favorites: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8. Light FCC “hell” on track 7 but not obscene at all. No other FCCs.

Similar artists/releases: The Smiths, Cults, Veronica Falls, Wild Nothing “Gemini”, 500 Days of Summer, Deep Time

1. (3:04) ** Mid-tempo. Cool, militaristic drum beat throughout with strong female vocals.
2. (2:40) * Sample of some radio broadcast it sounds like. Nice catchy chorus and snippets of the initial sample sprinkled throughout.
3. (3:37) ** Mid-tempo with really melodic guitar and cooing vocals
4. (2:49) ** A slightly more lo-fi, acoustic track but definitely equally as catchy and beautiful. Transitions to some cool sound experiments midway through before returning to the chorus
5. (3:19) *** Up-tempo with memorable lyrics like “we’re not just empty vessels making noises”. My personal favorite on the album
6. (3:03) *** Great chiming guitars with overlapping vocals on the chorus, cool dynamic structure with a great ending
7. (3:17) * Mild FCC of “hell is other people” but it quotes Sartre so it should be okay. Upbeat with a catchy chorus and a more rock-ish feel compared to other songs on the CD
8. (3:14) ** Epic feel from the almost shoegaze-y guitars and some great drumming. Nice closer to a very consistent little album

Reviewed by Muscat