Fightstar: One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours
Fightstar - One Day Son This Will Be All Yours
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Friday, 21, Sep 2007 01:59
Gut Records, out September 24th
In a nutshell...
Growing pains for Charlie Simpson
What's it all about?
Slow-burning opener 99 kicks off proceeding with an apocalyptic sense of despair, easing listeners into the band's brand of post-millennial hardcore. We Apologise For Nothing sees a low-key beginning quickly tossed aside as Omar's typically giant percussion gives the track some impetus and with some well-rounded vocal interplay between Charlie Simpson and Alex Westaway, it's a defiant slice of intent, more layered than their previous efforts and clearly benefiting from the handiwork of producer Mat Wallace (Faith No More, Deftones). A tumultuous piano gives way to pounding slashed guitar on Floods and though Simpson's vocals are disappointingly muffled, the ascending, almost choral air of the song makes it a shoe-in for second single.
Simpson excels as a frontman here (no doubt helped by his Busted experiences), with the back-and-forth between piano and guitar propelling the song forward. The title track buzzes with biting zombie guitar, though actually writing a song about the rise of the undead seems a little juvenile for a band who've noticeably matured, both on record and onstage.
Deathcar could prove a divisive track, with not a hint of emo about the frantic, guttural scream of its hardcore opening. Though it quickly reverts to type, the interludes smack of Iowa-era Slipknot, a rather shocking progression for a singer who once sang "Air hostess/I love the way you dress". Actually, it's rather unfair to criticise Simpson on the basis of his former job - what's fair is to be unimpressed by the self-indulgence heaviness of a band that can do better.
The same problem occurs on Amaze Us, HIP (Enough) and Tannhauser (referencing Blade Runner again after their debut's Lost Like Tears In Rain). Omar Abidi's mighty drumming powers along even the most average of songs, and when Simpson's screaming his heart out during some fist-pumping choruses, the mid-90s meandering of Hed PE-esque bluesy guitar lines becomes a misfiring disappointment. There's the sense sometimes that they're trying to remind us that they do, in fact, rock.
A stunning denouement saves the album entirely, however, with Charlie pouring his heart out on Our Last Common Ancestor. It's in these moments where the band are at their best, combining a strong melodic sense with a nod to the epic tendencies of the genre and its heights of heart-on-sleeve melodrama. And in Unfamiliar Endings, an entirely unexpected climax gives a brutal, urgent album a beautiful, tender ending. With electronic backbeat building behind heartfelt vocals from Simpson and some wholly lovely female accompaniment, it's a snapshot of what the band's future holds, both heavy and expansive but also delicate and complex.
Who's it by?
After a slippery start, as Charlie Simpson's previous employment in Busted garnered his new outfit a regular chorus of boos and beer bombardments, Fightstar have weathered the initial storm to become one of the most respected emo bands in the UK. Owing a huge debt to their mentors Funeral for a Friend - with whom they've toured frequently - the band produced an ambitious, epic first album in Grand Unification. Though unfocussed and at times guilty of falling into genre cliches, it was an admirable debut. Despite its good reception, Simpson was said to have torn up his contract with Island Records after the major label pressurised the band to produce a poppier sound. After signing to Gut Records imprint Institute, Fightstar recorded the grand-sounding One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours with producer Mat Wallace.
As an example…
"When there's no room in hell / the dead will walk the earth /Just go and load another round /'til you're gonna take up your aim /'Cos one day son this will all be yours" - Charlie channels George A Romero's Dawn of the Dead on One Day Son
"So bring out the deathcar and we'll drive tonight / You're only making this worse / So here's to the deathcar, we will feast tonight / Just say the words and this will all end" - In a chirpy mood on Deathcar
"Some of us will learn / But none of us should know / Smoke'll fill this room / There'll be nothing left to show / Hold onto the ones you love / There won't be time to show / Enough" - As emo as it's possible to be on the fantastic Unfamiliar Ceilings
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Staggeringly unlikely, but with Kerrang! having championed the band since its inauspicious start, expect a Best British Band nomination the next time the magazine's annual awards are held.
What the others say
"One Day Son sees Fightstar attempt many styles – some skilfully; others ham-fistedly – but, as Charlie will no doubt be keen to parrot, at least Busted's skimpy, faux-punk stylings aren't among them." - Robert Jackman, BBC Music
"One Day Son, This Will Be All Yours is a huge improvement from Grand Unification. It's the perfect follow-up that had everything their debut was missing. Despite its minor flaws, One Day Son, This Will Be All Yours is definitely Fightstar's best work to date and surely won't be a disappointment to fans." - Joe DeAndrea, AbsolutePunk.net
So is it any good?
Frustratingly so. The first half of the album is superb post-hardcore, with Wallace's production helping the growing vocal confidence of Simpson and Westaway and Abidi's percussion providing weighty accompaniment to the vicious riffs. Though Deathcar's an outstanding headbanger, it's also a snapshot of the album's failing. The tendency to slip into the genre convention of sludgy opening riff followed by tuneful verses and soaring refrains would be more acceptable if said riffs were anything to write home about, but they're too often so uninspired and anachronistic that you dread their post-chorus return. It's a pity, because the opening seven tracks and the intriguing climax show the band's immense talent. Good, but not quite great - yet.
7/10
"I think the album is brilliant. People should leave behind the Charlie Simpson that they knew in Busted; he never liked that music, he prefers to sing this stuff and I think any man should be able to choose his own path." - David Singleton
"I loved Grand Unification and the new one is the album of the year along with Puzzle by Biffy. Fightstar are one of the most exciting bands around and they aren't going away anytime soon so people should just accept Busted is behind Charlie and focus on Fightstar because they never disappoint, in my opinion." - Kieran Fisher
"The album has a great introduction, the first three songs are all too good and the title-track doesn't disappoint either. I think it's great how Deathcar switches between some of the most heavy and brutal riffs on the album, and softer parts that leave a chilling feeling should you know what this song is about (read their website.) The second part of the album is, as this review more or less says, not as good as the first. It is still however very good - Tannhauser Gate is the perfect headbanger at gigs, and Unfamiliar Ceilings is the most beautiful song on the album. The one thing the album lacks is that real "wow" factor, even the songs that impress do not make you want to listen again and again and again. 9/10." - Matt Middleton
Lewis Bazley