Far

At Night We Live

Written by: TL on 17/08/2010 20:37:32

Okay scenesters, it's history lesson time (opens wikipedia). Once upon a time (the nineties) there was a band called Far who did what bands used to do back then. They slowly gathered momentum by putting out real, good old fashioned, full length LP's, toured with Deftones and Incubus and peaked with 1998's "Water & Solution", which went on to be cited as an influence by bands the likes of Thursday, Biffy Clyro and Jimmy Eat World. Achieving such success, the band decided to call it quits, and since then, the four members have been active in a multitude of projects, most notable of which must be guitarist Shaun Lopez producing Deftones' "Saturday Night Wrist".

So guess what, in 2009, Far again did what nineties bands apparently did that year. They reformed, and after building good vibes around some reunion tour dates, they suddenly felt creative enough to release a new album, and in swooped Vagrant Records to make "At Night We Live" happen. Having done my homework and listened to its predecessor; "Water & Solution", I can safely say however, that Far don't sound that much like they used to.

The sound of that album you see, I would compare to the sound of Sunny Day Real Estate on "Diary" or Biffy Clyro on "Blackened Sky", but here on the new one, things are somewhat cleaner and more hard to pidgeonhole. On one hand, there are moments that sound as radio-rock as for instance Sick Puppies or Three Doors Down, but then there are also soaring, eerie, larger than life moments alá Deftones. And then there's frontman Jonah Matranga's vocals, which appear as part Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) and part Jared Leto (30 Seconds To Mars).

That's quite a few comparisons already drawn to things that Far juggle around on "At Night We Live", but while you may fear for things to turn out as a mess, these guys show that they've been around the block and back, by wrapping absolutely everything into tight and effective cuts, suitable equally for you headphones and your local arena, and surrendering alternative rock's usual sidekicks "cornyness" and "pretense" in favour of things such as "class" and "credibility". The end product is my favourite record of this particular moment - one that features about six awesome stand out tracks such as "If You Cared Enough", "Give Me A Reason", "Are You Sure" and "The Ghost That Kept On Haunting", as well as five other cuts that are rock solid. And on top of that, you also get a genuinely fun cover of Ginuwine's "Pony". The only question that remains to be asked is: Why did all these nineties bands punch out in the first place?

8

Download: If You Cared Enough, Give Me A Reason, Burns, Are You Sure
For The Fans Of: Biffy Clyro, Incubus and Jimmy Eat World (but slightly heavier), the sound of Weezer, Deftones and Taproot having a three way, American alterna-rock with cheese replaced by class
Listen: myspace.com/far

Release Date 25.05.2010
Vagrant Records

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