Absolute Place – Fang Island Absolute Place – Fang Island

The day of psyche indie rock dominance is upon us! With bands taking their own unique approach to the genre, it is becoming a flourishing mainstream musical style (while still not sold out or anything). Bands like Yeasayer, Animal Collective, Handsome Furs, and so many more are stepping into the limelight, and stealing the thunder from more traditional bands. This is a great thing!

This past Tuesday, new players in the indie psyche game, Fang Island, released their second full-length LP. After listening to it quite a bit, I’m sold. It’s popy, but not obnoxious. Intense, but not dramatic. Harmonious, but not gimmicky. You get the point. These guys never abandon the roots of hard-nosed rock. So legit!

Track after track pumps through your veins like a drug that you just can’t get enough of. Clap-alongs are ever present on this 11 track album, but there’s a substance to the songs that many indie pop songs don’t possess. I feel like it would be the brainchild of someone that grew up on pop rock, emo (the vocals are NOT emo by any means), and 80s synth music.

The LP opens with the crackling sound effects of Dreams of Dreams, a song that builds up into a beautiful electronic masterpiece. The instrumentals are definitely the focal point in this one. That is, until the final 30 seconds or so, when the band’s vocals triumphantly enter the scene and offer a brilliant introduce my favorite track on the album, Careful Crossers. Great fucking song. I can honestly FEEL the pounding drums and roaring guitar chords massaging (not to be mistaken with messaging) the neurons in my brain (that’s a good thing).

I really do love this album. Songs like The Illinoise, Davey Crockett, Dorian, and Absolute Place (which features Chris Keating of Yeasayer) prove why Fang Island is more than just another indie psyche band. They’re a viciously complex rock group with a “put your hands in the air and chest bump someone” sound. Get what I mean? Maybe not. That’s just what I think!

I’m shelling out a 4.5 bee rating for this album. It’s the sort of record that gets straight to business and takes you on a rock and roll roller coaster ride of euphoria. Take a listen to the track below, and be on the lookout for a future phone interview I’m doing with these guys in the next couple weeks! Enjoy!