Fiction Family
(ATO)
As Starbucks stores keep closing and the dwindling economy continues to threaten the suburban lifestyle, music fans can hopefully rejoice over the inevitable disappearance of a certain type of genre: Prepackaged Chain Coffee Shop Rock. Written in mostly major keys with cliched chord progressions, and even housing the requisite acoustic cover of a Cure song, the Fiction Family's debut album will hopefully be the first victim to fall beneath the unerring blade of recession economics.
The album opens with "When She's Near," a trite aping of late ‘90s alt-rock. If you want to listen to a Nada Surf or Elliot Smith album, then go listen to a Nada Surf or Elliot Smith album instead if this one. The most egregious offender on Fiction Family is "Please Don't Call it Love," which features all of the auspices of a sad, love lost ballad, without any of the genuine pathos or sadness that makes the song worth listening to.
With that being said, the unfortunate thing about the Fiction Family's self-titled debut is that it stinks of wasted potential. Switchfoot's John Foreman and Nickel Creek's Sean Watkins recorded the album together during a series of recording sessions over the period of several years, thus leading one to believe that the guitar lick could have been meatier, the lyrics could have been more poignant and subtle, and the songs could have been, well, better. Hopefully, the market will be the most harsh critic of all, so other bands can learn from its bite.
Standout Tracks: "Look For Me Baby" "Betrayal" BRIAN CREECH
