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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Fanmail’s debut album, last June’s The Latest Craze, was a near-perfect summer album, with all the elements that the genre requires: catchy melodies, crunchy, fast guitars, and even a Farfisa organ in some places. Though rather reminiscent of MxPx in some places, it was still better than 95% of the Plankeye material in which Scott Siletta was involved. Just over a year after the release of The Latest Craze, Siletta has assembled an entirely different band and released a second album, creatively titled Fanmail 2000. On the exterior, the album continues the comic book art theme that the band’s debut initiated, only it’s more science fiction-oriented this time around. The music is also rather similar to The Latest Craze, catchy new school pop-punk with Siletta’s excellent, distinctive vocals. (Side note: I have to commend Siletta for not doing the whole fake British accent thing) A glance at the lyrics, however, will show that something has happened between the writing of the first album and the writing of Fanmail 2000: most of the lyrics on the new album are darker and more serious than their precursors. Compare, for example, "Rock and Roll Star" from The Latest Craze with "Hero" from Fanmail 2000: I wanna be in a rock and roll bandWhat’s most interesting, though, is that even while taking on darker subject matter, Siletta’s music doesn’t lose any of its fun factor: indeed, some of the songs ("Shut Your Mouth," "Time Will Only Tell") are far catchier than The Latest Craze. And while the lyrics aren’t exactly poetry, they certainly fit well with the music. There are a couple of songs that deserve further attention. The first is a fast punk cover of "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys (now the punkers can finally admit that they like the song). The other is the album’s closer, "The Other Side," a slow number in the vein of "Happy Birthday," dedicated to Siletta’s late friend and mentor, Gene Eugene: Now I’m 27 and you were 38It’s a heartbreaker, and the perfect way to end the album. Michial Farmer 8/28/2000
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