Once again another release from FPRecords that falls short on content but is quite capable musically. The band is the Chicago pop revival group, The Fake Fictions. The group tries to create tunes which connect with people, enabling them to dance and to have fun, but with very little result. Their fluffy premise leaves us with just that - a lot of fluff.



The group consists of three members: Nick Ammerman on guitar and vocals, Sarah Johnson on bass and vocals, and Ben Bilow on drums. Nick and Sarah are actually recently engaged so you can expect some kind of elated vibe on the album. Unfortunately it sounds like they are more in a coma than they are in a state of euphoria. They describe themselves as real but not authentic, in which case I'm not sure what they are. Fakeness is an attitude to them apparently...but then why would you want to submit yourself to be fooled?



The group plays a kind of new-surf sound, something of a happy punk. When I think about it, surf music must have had something to do with punk music. On songs such as "Do The Dance" and "I Miss The Dark" the feeling comes across with great effect. If The Fake Fictions were a painting they would be flat and very glossy, more like a photograph of a painting.



The vocals of Nick and Sarah are never penetrating or intimate; they are always off in the distance and resonate very poorly in your head and in the studio space conveyed. Their whines and faltering groans sound more pathetic than they do perfected. With only a drummer added to the mix their sound is sparse and empty. It is not open and involving, it really sounds like something is missing on most of their songs.



Although their harmonies are clean and their melodies are crisp, they sound like they have nothing to lose, and not in an 'all or nothing' kind of way. The Fake Fictions do not utilize the inherent qualities which, as humans, allow us to connect on a more vital basis; where you feel you need the band to live. Sure, I might see them if I'm in the Chicago area, and they just so happen to be playing, and my date got cancelled, and there's no good movies on, and they finish before Conan O'Brien - but they lack the gravity which really pulls your head out of your shirt and gets you thinking "there might be something here".



Track Listing

1 Mess

2 Summertime

3 Stuck in the Tide

4 Innards

5 Time Machine

6 Impossible You

7 Just Desserts

8 We Could Destroy You

9 All Night

10 You Got it

11 Do the Dance

12 I Miss The Dark