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Recommended by us on 25th August 2011
...according to our Mike on Thu 25 Aug, 2011.
This is a totally likeable single. Fear of Men play girl-fronted early '90s-style indie pop and it's beautifully realised. The production is lush but not showy and the singer's got a cracking voice. Their sound is kind of reminiscent of Throwing Muses, but with some slightly awkward melodies a la 12 Rods, and maybe a touch of Belle & Sebastian's sinister twee. The B side is pretty decent too and very much continues along similar lines to the A. I'm getting a bit of a Beach House vibe here too. There's definitely some of that '60s psych pop influence that's been going around lately, but refreshingly this band doesn't try to smother all its songs in reverb, which has become a bit tiresome lately, let's face it. A nice single, particularly the A side.
The band's first 7", 'Ritual Confession/ Spirit House', out on Italian Beach Babes on August the
22nd, sees Fear Of Men expand on their debut release- a demo cassette on Sex is Disgusting that
sold out on pre-order- to present a bolder take on the hallucinatory dream pop found on that tape.
Jess (Vocals+ Guitar) had been writing and home recording ambient songs as soundtracks to short
films when Daniel (Guitar) attended an exhibition of her work. The two began swapping mixtapes
and started a project based on a shared a love of melody and an eclectic mix of artists such as
Eric's Trip, Grouper, Daniel Johnston, The Pixies, and The Chills.
The latter's influence can be heard in the cascading chorus-drenched guitar lines of 'Ritual
Confession', a song which benefits from the additions to the group of Lin and Antony on bass and
drums respectively, and ends with Breeders-like distorted guitars and heavy drums, whilst vocal
harmonies fights to be heard above the noise.
Spirit House, named as one of Drowned in Sound's 'Songs of the Year So Far', incorporates a
hypnotic song structure that washes over the listener in waves as Jess' textured vocals overlap.
Despite only existing as a full band since February 2011, their live show has seen them draw
comparisons with mid- era Throwing Muses and received acclaim from the likes of Drowned in
Sound and The 405. You can catch them at their single launch show on the 26th of August at
Power Lunches in Dalston.
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Norman Records,
Unit 20, Croydon House,
Croydon Street,
Leeds,
LS11 9RT, UK.
Tel/fax: (+44) 0113 245 4399
Email: phil@normanrecords.com
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