Fake Problems - It’s Great To Be Alive
By the time Level With The Devil comes flowing out of your speakers, one thing about Floridas Fake Problems becomes very apparent: they are obviously huge music lovers. This observation is carried throughout the bands Side One Dummy debut, and the bands sophomore effort, Its Great To Be Alive. One minute raw punk rock, the next country or disco, Fake Problems are a band definitely not afraid to throw things in the melting pot.
Opener 1234 showcases the bands talents as they blend from rousing and aggressive vocals, not dissimilar to Against Me! and Hot Water Music, with subtle horns that wouldnt sound out of place on a lot of jazz records, yet always still firmly holding onto a large dose of pop sensibilities to permanently engrave melodies into your memory. Memorable tracks such as The Dream Team and the slower paced, but equally engaging Tabernacle Song wouldnt seem out of place on The Hold Steadys next release; both lyrically and musically, at times Fake Problems really produce work that is challenging.
As is the case with a lot of experiments though, there are always likely to be efforts that dont work as well, and though Fake Problems should be applauded for attempting something wholly different and diverse, it would have to be a staggering work of genius to make all the aspects of their sound exist harmoniously throughout all 35 minutes of the record. Alligator Assassinator is an easily forgotten song that somehow drifts away without really ever being noticed, and unfortunately, its not until Heart BPM, Its Great To Be Alives closer, that you are pulled back into appreciating the quartets talents.
Though Its Great To Be Alive does get better for the first bout of listens, it soon stands out as a record that in parts is average, others sensational, but always, always diverse. Yet in a world of mediocrity and similar release after similar release, you could do far worse than picking up this record, and devoting your time to it. John Webber
By the time Level With The Devil comes flowing out of your speakers, one thing about Floridas Fake Problems becomes very apparent: they are obviously huge music lovers. This observation is carried throughout the bands Side One Dummy debut, and the bands sophomore effort, Its Great To Be Alive. One minute raw punk rock, the next country or disco, Fake Problems are a band definitely not afraid to throw things in the melting pot.
Opener 1234 showcases the bands talents as they blend from rousing and aggressive vocals, not dissimilar to Against Me! and Hot Water Music, with subtle horns that wouldnt sound out of place on a lot of jazz records, yet always still firmly holding onto a large dose of pop sensibilities to permanently engrave melodies into your memory. Memorable tracks such as The Dream Team and the slower paced, but equally engaging Tabernacle Song wouldnt seem out of place on The Hold Steadys next release; both lyrically and musically, at times Fake Problems really produce work that is challenging.
As is the case with a lot of experiments though, there are always likely to be efforts that dont work as well, and though Fake Problems should be applauded for attempting something wholly different and diverse, it would have to be a staggering work of genius to make all the aspects of their sound exist harmoniously throughout all 35 minutes of the record. Alligator Assassinator is an easily forgotten song that somehow drifts away without really ever being noticed, and unfortunately, its not until Heart BPM, Its Great To Be Alives closer, that you are pulled back into appreciating the quartets talents.
Though Its Great To Be Alive does get better for the first bout of listens, it soon stands out as a record that in parts is average, others sensational, but always, always diverse. Yet in a world of mediocrity and similar release after similar release, you could do far worse than picking up this record, and devoting your time to it.
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