Fol Chen
(Asthmatic Kitty)
www.asthmatickitty.com
Ambivalence is rarely a virtue in rock criticism. It hints at indifference more than bona fide confliction of ideas, two poles that in the case of Fol Chen might not be so very far apart. With Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made, the debut release from the deliberately (and somewhat obnoxiously) enigmatic group, empty sonic mosaics offer mostly distraction with occasional memorable moments like the somewhat funky "No Wedding Cake" to bring in that element of critical confliction that leaves me enticed by the particular arrangement of sonic doo-dads-here, drum loops and synth blurps meet a squirmy guitar and layers of blank vocals--even if diving into it would be about as successful as doing likewise in a kiddie pool.
I'm not one to savor a concussion, though, so I'll be content to merely let the record pass on by, casually enjoying its colorful façade but ultimately unmoved. Pleasant and briefly interesting cuts like "Cable TV" save the record from utter mediocrity, and do indeed offer all the mindless "fun" of your standard bubblegum ditty-albeit with an ear more inclined toward Hot Chip and TV On The Radio than Britney and Timbaland. The listening experience is not wasted, but neither is it significantly rewarding, it just kind of is. I don't think I like this, but I don't hate it. I guess you could say I'm ambivalent. So sue me.
Standout Tracks: "No Wedding Cake," "Cable TV," BRYAN REED
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