Strip away the rather daft mob facade that The Fez (or is it just Fez?) have made for themselves and you’ll find a bloody stunning little band. Just like Tommy Cooper, you could say they’re more than a bit magical. Infact, with a little tweaking, this lot could quite easily pull something big out of a hat – and I’m not talking about a rabbit. London based, they fuse jazz with more traditional rock and post-hardcore sounds to create something a little bit different. If they could just find a handful of corking choruses, and make their singer bellow like he means it, then this lot would really be something to write home about. Instead, I’m left with a sense of wanting a bit more, rather than feeling completely satisfied – but at least The Fez are on the right lines.
This three track demo sounds like The Cure tackling Prince in a dirty jazz club. The guitars are spot on – inventive, original, clean and jazzed up to the max – while the drums and bass compliment the mix really well. On the intro to ‘Habits’ the guitars sound so much like Prince that I wanted to bust some loved-up moves. I just hope several members of this band have kept their ribs intact and (allegedly) cannot perform certain acts on themselves. ‘Jazz Hands‘ is also a song that you’d not really expect someone on a webiste called Punktastic to start harping on about, but then this is a classy record by a band with oodles of potential. The downside is that while the songs grab you for being different, they don’t grab me enough for being excellent. The vocal melodies certainly need work and there’s a lack of a killer chorus, or certainly any kind of hook. That’s the major disappointment, because if The Fez can work on that aspect of their game, they’ll really be a major player. Ultimately they could end up being a Tony Soprano, but for the moment they may have to make do with being an AJ – son of Tony. Time will tell if they what it takes, but I’ll certainly be a willing listener. I just hope they don’t end up sleeping with the fishes.
www.fezcore.com
paul