May 27, 2010

Fang Island...trying just a little too hard?

Soooo the onslaught of trendy hipster driven, progressive indie rock performed by "art school" graduates spewing out of lofts in Williamsburg Brooklyn has grown exponentially in the last few years. Ever since LCD Soundsystem labeled it the place to be back in '05, music magazines everywhere have taken those 20 something blood suckers living off their parents money with wispy mustaches just a little more seriously. Some of it has been good (MGMT, Chairlift, Grizzly Bear) some of it has been horrible (Nurses, Suckers....a ton more). Anyways Fang Island falls into the second category. They are (of course) art school graduates, who I think try to "ironically" poke fun at their undergraduate degrees by making insanely weird videos to go with their increasingly annoying take on electronic indie rock. They take a little from LCD Soundsystem, a little from Empire of the Sun, Arcade Fire...and then they put a guy with a voice so nasal, he would make Matt from Matt and Kim, and Elvis Costello blush. Is it just me, or is the Brooklyn scene playing itself out? At least temporarily, with indie rock now hitting the mainstream (I mean it now wins "awards" on MTV) this also means "indie" itself has lost most of it's meaning. So is this their response? to produce something soooo "avant garde" and artsy only the most hipster of hipsters will be able to sit down with the LP (on vinyl of course) and in the comfort of their loft/ studio apartment and play it at some house party as they all lay around and drink PBR? And with that note I'm even making fun of myself...I love PBR...and have been consistently called a hipster on a number of occasions (but neglecting my own hypocrisy), but even I can see through the ridiculous "indie" facade all these bands play to, if only to get a few nods from the independent music magazines...who are usually written by the same people anyway. End of rant.

And of course Pitchfork loves them. Surprise surprise.

1 comment:

  1. I couldn't agree with you more & most the reviews I've read are praising the hell out of their newest album (This means you Pitchfork). The influences are so freaking obvious (Weak Polyphonic Spree style harmonies, The Flaming Lips, Nintendo style Guitar Riffs from classics like Mega-Man 2 & Ducktails) that the album screams rip-off to me. Even the music video for "Careful Cursors" that ZFCL made was a weak attempt at something great; see Squarepusher Delta V. I really wanted to like these guys, but I think the guitar player from Daughters should drop this side project.

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