Face to Face‘s 1996 release on A&M records is heralded as a classic by many; but I have to say I disagree. Face to face never really grabbed my attention, and buying this album sort of reinforced that viewpoint; it has its fair share of ups and downs, but never really seems to take off.
‘Resignation’ begins with a baseline and drum beat reminiscent of Pennywise; as the tune starts up, we get guitar which, for some reason, seams to lack substance and power – turning from a somewhat dark opening into a far more resolved song toward the close; a distinct change in feeling is present, adding to the song’s appeal; though you’re unlikely to cling to this track as one of your favourites. ‘Walk The Walk’ however is a far more powerful affair, laying down a fair paced beat with a nice little riff to warm the song up before the other guitars join the party; with lyrical content which can almost certainly be applied to someone you know – “I hear you talk the talk, but I don’t see you walk the walk, and I still don’t believe a thing you say”; pulled off with a conviction which is ultimately refreshing. Other popular classic, ‘Blind’ retains the energy exerted in the previous track; though seems to rely far too much on voice strength – the guitars seem muffled and unclear. Unfortunately, this continues throughout the album.
‘Ordinary’ is relatively listenable, though seems distinctly average – it isn’t the kind of track you’d consider adding to one of your own compilations, and certainly doesn’t stand out from the rest. ‘I Won’t Lie Down’ deals out far more impact than others, with a genuinely enjoyable progression from angst ridden to more serene style, without the pace faltering. ‘Can’t Change the World’ doesn’t sound particularly interesting, and seems like a song Millencolin would have made a far better effort of. Despite this, it is undeniably quick and kind of drags you through it’s 2 minutes before slowing abruptly at the very end.
As ‘Handout’ begins you’re beginning to become bored of the lack of ingenuity the album displays, almost to the point of irritation, where the only distinguishing factor between each song is incredibly small (small breaks in the song featuring here). ‘Everythings your fault’ is an improvement, but becomes tiring, especially towards the end. ‘Take it back’ seems to me incredibly boring and is skipped regularly; ‘Complicated’ once again utilises the tried and tested Base guitar intro, but doesn’t sprout into anything other than another average song. Out of the two remaining tracks, ‘Falling’ is the stronger, but by this time I have no wish to listen to it repeatedly.
After hearing ‘Walk the Walk’ on someone else‘s stereo, I invested money in this album only to wish I hadn’t; it is resolutely average, with nothing especially bad nor good of note. Buy at your peril, but don’t be alarmed if it begins to gather a surprising amount of dust on your shelf.
nick