Imagine if Hell is For Heroes were actually from Holland. Got that image? Yeh, well, then you’d have something like Face Tomorrow on your hands. One of two or three jewels in Reflections Records’ crown, they supported AFI on their brief UK jaunt the other year and ‘The Closer You Get’ is their second release on the label.
After winning much acclaim in their home country, Face Tomorrow appear to be on course to conquer the world (or at least the rest of Europe) with this release. Their sound encompassed on this album is ultimately a radio friendly, if not mildly daring, one. But at the end of the day, there is little to set them apart from their compatriots in the long run.
It all starts promisingly. However, with the opening trio of songs impressing more than the other 9 combined together, you cant help but wonder what might have been. A lot of the album merely drifts into mediocrity. The contrast of beautiful melodic vocals and occasionally hardcore-style riffs does work wonderfully, but those moments appear fleetingly.
Face Tomorrow are a good band, they really are. They write good songs, with nice riffs and catchy vocal harmonies, they just don’t actually manage to get out of second gear and seem to be content to be musical shrinking violets. The irony is that this lack of invention and their current musical direction is enough to see them triumph in the mainstream. Or at least, it probably should be. They deserve it, I guess, just don’t expect me to carry on listening past track 3.
Ross