Fear of Men
So here's a post about a UK indie band that I first read about in French music blog Filles Sourires. Confused? Read on...
Brighton-based Fear of Men recently recorded a French-language version of their song "Luna", that cropped up on their SoundCloud page and to which Guuz and the Filles Sourires team took an immediate shine. It certainly grabbed my attention - and on the basis that a great song is a great song whatever the language - it was time to start digging...
Fear of Men are singer-guitarist Jessica Weiss, Daniel Falvey on guitar and Michael Miles on drums. The band have been around since 2011, starting as the soundtrack of a project and exhibition by Goldsmiths College student Jessica (researching androphobia - hence the band's name). A meeting with Daniel Falvey resulted in the pair starting to write and record together... The rest, as they say, is history...
The trio are signed to Kanine Records (home of the wonderful Beverly) and following a compilation of their early singles and demos (2013's "Early Fragments"), released their debut album "Loom" in April of this year.
And what a joyous album this is - all jangly guitars, female vocals (so ticks two of the required boxes) and exquisitely multi-layered indie-pop songs (check out those cascading strings on "Waterfall" to hear what I mean) that play disjointedly with the bitter-sweet, often forlorn and melancholy lyrics - at times there's a strong resemblance to themes explored by Dum Dum Girls; both Jessica and Dee Dee Penny sharing a love of and are influenced by the writings of Anaïs Nin and Sylvia Plath...
Brighton-based Fear of Men recently recorded a French-language version of their song "Luna", that cropped up on their SoundCloud page and to which Guuz and the Filles Sourires team took an immediate shine. It certainly grabbed my attention - and on the basis that a great song is a great song whatever the language - it was time to start digging...
Fear of Men are singer-guitarist Jessica Weiss, Daniel Falvey on guitar and Michael Miles on drums. The band have been around since 2011, starting as the soundtrack of a project and exhibition by Goldsmiths College student Jessica (researching androphobia - hence the band's name). A meeting with Daniel Falvey resulted in the pair starting to write and record together... The rest, as they say, is history...
The trio are signed to Kanine Records (home of the wonderful Beverly) and following a compilation of their early singles and demos (2013's "Early Fragments"), released their debut album "Loom" in April of this year.
And what a joyous album this is - all jangly guitars, female vocals (so ticks two of the required boxes) and exquisitely multi-layered indie-pop songs (check out those cascading strings on "Waterfall" to hear what I mean) that play disjointedly with the bitter-sweet, often forlorn and melancholy lyrics - at times there's a strong resemblance to themes explored by Dum Dum Girls; both Jessica and Dee Dee Penny sharing a love of and are influenced by the writings of Anaïs Nin and Sylvia Plath...
However, this album is definitely from my side of The Pond - the songs evoke as they do a a shoegazy post-C86, Twee feel (if Twee ever wore steel toecaps...) Interviewers and reviews casually drop the likes of Morrissey, Lush, and even the Marine Girls (Hatfield Poly's finest - and there's that similar quirky homespun feel at times on display here) into the conversation....
And then you come across "America" - it's not the standout track - since truthfully this album is so consistent, my personal favourite has been varying on a play-by-play basis (which to my mind is the sign of a mighty fine album...), but there's something about the way that Jessica almost poetically rhymes the a cappella intro, before launching into a gorgeous lilting, melodic tune. There's something romantic and escapist about the lyrics - but then there's the deliberately added distortion (I was about to complain about the quality of the enregistrement 'till I read a few reviews) - perhaps hinting that the mythical land over the seas isn't quite a paradise... (Moi? I'm just a cynical Brit - so don't ask me... Weather's nice here though!)
And then you come across "America" - it's not the standout track - since truthfully this album is so consistent, my personal favourite has been varying on a play-by-play basis (which to my mind is the sign of a mighty fine album...), but there's something about the way that Jessica almost poetically rhymes the a cappella intro, before launching into a gorgeous lilting, melodic tune. There's something romantic and escapist about the lyrics - but then there's the deliberately added distortion (I was about to complain about the quality of the enregistrement 'till I read a few reviews) - perhaps hinting that the mythical land over the seas isn't quite a paradise... (Moi? I'm just a cynical Brit - so don't ask me... Weather's nice here though!)
Then of, course, there's "Luna" - at face value it's the perfect summer record packed with bouncy, indie-pop guitars rhythms - but again there are those deliberately bleak and nightmarish lyrics... As for le version française - well that's all jangling guitars, female vocals AND sung in French (does life get any better than this?) It's obviously an artier and more cultured version, naturellement...
I missed Fear of Men the last time they played the States - won't make that mistake next time.
Fear of Men Website
Fear of Men on SoundCloud
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