Fattooth - Fattooth [Album]

Reversed Records

October 2, 2009, 01:29 AM

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The first time I ever heard or saw Fattooth was at this year’s North By Northeast (if you don’t know what North By Northeast is, search and you shall find). As I think back to that night, it was a bitter sweet adventure. Fattooth totally rocked the shit out of The Hideout! Wish I recorded a few more tracks but it was impossible, the crowd was crazy wild! It was hard enough to film one tune amongst the madness, never mind another. I was impressed with the performance so naturally a review of their self titled debut record was necessary. Of course people have different opinions, there's always people in my ear with diverse views regarding different bands, sometimes they are right, sometimes they lie and when they lie it's usually a huge lie. Following my intuition and curiosity disregarding all others perspectives, I made my own conclusion by experiencing Fattooths self titled album for myself. And now to find out if Fattooth are fabulous overall or if they have a little case of “BLS” (Better Live Syndrome).

First track ‘Big Daddy’ is a fast paced, hard driven, punkish track with swift guitars moulded fittingly to Hucifer’s rough vocals. There is a simple but sick guitar solo in the breakdown near the end of the track which is my favorite part of the song. People need to put more guitar solos into their tunes again, guitar solos have been seriously neglected over the years. The only thing about 'Big Daddy' that I didn't like was Hucifer’s diction at the beginning. I can’t say it enough, enunciation is very important. In order for people to embody the vibe of the vision, to make them fully feel the effect that comes when the right music is meshed with the perfect lyrics, they need to understand what is being said. This is a trend with many bands, if I could remember them all, we would have a book but most have been forgotten for a reason. The musicianship of this song is seriously tight, everything is timed perfectly, the changes are smooth and their humour is present, especially at the end of the track where I was just laughing as they were totally messing about. If you listen to the tune you will understand.

The second tune on this record is titled ‘Rock Around The World’ one of the lines is “Hey Santa Clause / put me on the list / I’ve been a good boy but now I’m pissed.” What I’ve notice with this band is they just want to have fun rocking out; you can hear it in the music, nothing too serious in most of the tracks. I could actually hear this tune on the radio, well indie rock radio; the mainstream is not ready for Fattooth just yet. The vocal arrangements I like, there’s more of a rock rap metal feel if you need a packaged perspective. My ears liked the middle switch (breakdown) it sounded like a completely different track and the transitions seemed effortless. The vocals are killing it in this tune. Hucifer's range is anything but vast, it’s the fullness and depth in his tone, mixed with the effects and back up vocals that comes off as a faultless blend. The downfall is articulation yet again but it is better than on the first.

The tune ‘High Time At Low Tide’ was interestingly entertaining filled with energy reminding me of their live set. Moments of S.O.A.D in this tune and it isn’t the only track that sounds very familiar, there are a few others on this record that mimic many. Certain parts of this track sounded too busy, too much going on, this is not the only track on the album that has this problem either. 'Bacteria' is too funny; kicking into many different flavors from Nirvana to Beastie Boys to Weird Al. The intro is a chick coughing which then drops into some Nirvana territory until the chorus. I get the fact they are trying different things but if they want to be taken seriously, they have to be consistent in finding a good blend without the severity of the schizophrenia they currently posses.

I was not feeling 'Gunned By Noon' or 'Slave' the tunes are too similar to each other and my ears were hearing one long song. I had to repeat the tracks a few times to make sure they were actually different songs. Fattooth kept my attention for half the album but I must say that they are much better live than on record. The vocals are strong but there is something missing. You can’t see or feel the charisma and energy of their live show on record. The production is decent, some areas could have been re-recorded and cleaned up prior to mastering but it is great quality for a first independent release.

Fattooth are definitely worth a listen but if you can catch these guys live, it is highly recommended.

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