It’s been a pretty cool few weeks for home-grown music. You only need to look at a review of 2000 Trees or Truck Festival to see that, while 2016 is shaping up to be a fairly terrible year otherwise, relatively unknown British bands are coming to the forefront of what’s shaping up to be a fantastic time for alternative music. Faux, a foursome from Southampton – a place never short of musical talent – are the latest guys trying to make their mark in a sea of new discoveries. With an EP like ‘Inhale’ they’ve got a pretty good chance.
Their self-proclaimed brand of “dirty pop” – which is actually a fairly accurate description – is a joyful, upbeat take on the emo tendencies of British pop rock bands, layered with singalong moments and rock anthem choruses. Irregular rhythms, imperfect vocals, and an overlying indie sound lift their songs from the standard formula of a lot of alternative bands.
From the slow, percussive introduction of opener ‘Inhale’ through its powdery verses, offbeat guitars, and uplifting crescendo, Faux’s inherent ability for a killer pop song is obvious. ‘Nerves’, which plays it a little less safe, jumps from racing bridge to steady chorus and back again. Special mention to the lyric “those nerves melt like chocolate”. It’s a simile straight out of your GCSE coursework, sure, but we’ll let them get away with that one.
Easily a song straight out of the charts of the mid-noughties, ‘Call’ never loses pace. Think Two Door Cinema Club’s effortless catchiness and you get the idea. The stop-start sound of ‘You Know’ is totally different in comparison but those repetitive oh-ohs sound like The Futureheads’ ‘Hounds Of Love’. Sure, Faux are fundamentally an alternative band but there is no dying the uncomplicated pop characteristics of ‘Inhale’ from start to finish.
‘Swimmingly’ ends the EP in just the way you’d want it to. A rockier sound than its EP mates, the emo influences are there in the brooding guitars and pleading vocals. That head-bopping chorus is still there though and the blink and you’ll miss acapella outro gives us a little taster of the band’s singing capabilities and another layer of sound we hope to look forward to.
For anyone who doesn’t mind their pop rock absent of any gritty edges and packed full of upbeat melodies, Faux’s new release is the one for you. Leave your bad feelings at the door and enjoy this mood-lifting EP for what it is because alternative music needn’t always be a drag and Faux will soon find themselves alongside names like Moose Blood and The Xcerts as scene-stealers.
KATHRYN BLACK