Reading the accompanying press sheet one could assume that FANDANGLE are something special. A claim that one of their albums came behind SUBLIME‘s ‘40oz…’ and beat RBF’s ‘Turn off the Radio’ in a ska competition is obviously highly impressive. Yet for some reason I’ve not actually heard anything by this band until this three track E.P. became acquainted with my CD collection.
Instantly you get hit by American sounding vocals, but this Surrey based seven-piece can be excused as singer and guitarist, Adam Bantz, is originally from New York What isn’t as excusable is the mediocrity which is found in abundance across all three tracks. A quick overview leads me finding nothing but mundane and frankly boring ska-punk by numbers which becomes so tedious after the 7-odd minutes this disk lasts it’s almost offensive.
Other reviews of this band I’ve read are pretty much all good, maybe these three tracks weren’t on those CDs or maybe I’ve just become too cynical, but there really isn’t anything here to write home about. The horn lines are blandly unmemorable and they pretty much act as a starting point for me to describe every other aspect of these three tracks. The vocals are clichéd and the ‘whoas’ almost make me cringe. The guitars sound weak and very low in the mix, which for some reason places too emphasis on the snare drum and the horns which isn’t a great listening experience. The song structures are basic and choruses are largely unmemorable.
I’ve given this CD a bit of a ravaging so far which may seem a little unfair as FANDANGLE seem like a competent band in the way they seem to be able to play their instruments adequately and there is nothing grossly wrong with these tracks. I just can’t find any particular highlights worth mentioning and this seems to be the main problem; it’s all just bog-standard ska-punk which had its expiry date a few years back and even then these songs wouldn’t really have set the scene on fire. I’ve heard FANDANGLE have a good live act, I hope they do as there is nothing here to suggest they are worthy of beating RBF of all bands in a ska competition.
Mike
www.fandangle.moonfruit.com
Party House Records