8 times the charm
 |
| Faced Out - s/t Label: Atlanta Zone Records |
FACED OUT's debut album will be the album that everyone points at in a few years, when the topic is on hidden gems of 2023...
But who's FACED OUT, anyway? They're an 8-musician-strong collective out of St. Louis, Missouri. They use a saxophone, a trombone, keys and a violin. Besides that they also have guitars, a bass and drums on board, as well as some vocals. That reads ambitious and believe me, the result -their debut album- sounds ambitious too. Impressive is, how they manage to compose tracks that give every instrument its place. Nothing comes off as "gimmick-y" or unnecessary. They use all their instruments to create their own flavour.
They're an Emo-band somehow, with similarities to modern acts like HOME IS WHERE, PROPER. and SUMMER 2000/ELDER JACK. They're gruff, they're cranky, they love to experiment... and they have lots of feeling while doing so. FACED OUT however put their Emo-shtick in a Post-Rock-context, with lengthy songs, vast song constructs and expansive build-ups. They love SLINT too -the godfathers of Post-Rock- and deliver the single-best interpretation of their style I've ever came to witness. Listen to "Snow" to know what I'm talking about. It's not as easy with FACED OUT, and it never is. They may sound like the reincarnation of SLINT in the mentioned part of "Snow", but they start us off in a different kind of manner before sliding in that reduced part. And they totally turn the song upside down at the last third, with all those instruments wrecking it up for good. They even add screaming near the end, giving you some kind of Screamo/Post-Hardcore-vibe. The spoken words and the intense, mysterious sentiment of the record also remind me of MEWITHOUTYOU's superb debut album. Did I mention that they dive into pure Chamber music too?!
They do an outstanding job over the majority of those 45 minutes and keep you busy with their moody, bewildering nature that battles the raw emotion all the while. Sometimes all those newcomers nowaydays are too defined and polished and streamlined. They pull their smoothed out style like a rabbit out of the hat and leave you with nothing left to explore or to wonder. FACED OUT are different. You feel that they are young and really curious and possibly even a bit over-ambitious. They love different kind of styles and throw them together for the sake of doing something new. It's not a hundred percent defined but it's full of character and capability. Yes, they loose themselves sometimes, especially in the second half of the record where the Chamber-ness is taking over. It's cool anyway, but they probably could be even more effective with some repetitions here and there. The closer "Running" shows them from their catchiest side. Following the fucked up "Jimmy the Anthill Prince", the closing track suddenly comes out of the blue and the transition feels a bit anticlimatic... but that track is pure gold and one of the best endings to a record in a long time.
FACED OUT would've perfectly fit into the early to Mid-2000s. The time when creativity and experimentation within Screamo, Emo and Post-Hardcore was at its absolute peak. The time when small bands with small budgets recorded crazy and mindblowing music. With passion, heart and courage alone. I'll go without any namedropping this time around, as I already overdid it before. FACED OUT's debut album is for all you nerds that enjoyed thos records. Some of them are now called legendary and defining, others are cherished by a handful of freaks. Time will tell which status FACED OUT's selftitled album will gain. For now, I'll call it a highly promising debut by a likewise promising band.
Comments
Post a Comment