Fabonacci - Boundaries EP

 

Boundaries is the second EP from five piece Fabonacci. Their first collection, Exits, released last year, earned them some recognition, and many favourable reviews.

Fabonacci know they won't be the next Coldplay or Radiohead, and they declare that they ‘do not dream of sold out arenas’. Yet you've got to guess the band hopes to build a little on their reputation with the release of this EP. Will Boundaries earn them more mainstream recognition? I am not so sure.

Fabonacci’s sound mixes flowing piano with moments of cascading guitars and elements of electronica. It is a vast soundscape, and one that is, in parts, an intriguing listen. However, such a sound requires some seriously strong production and Boundaries distinctly lacks this. At its worst moments, as on the distinctly average Ghosts, it sounds like the kind of poorly recorded demos in constant circulation on MySpace. For a band that cite their influences as Doves, Bloc Party, Brian Eno and Portishead, the grunginess of the recording comes as something of a surprise, and not a particularly good one.

However, there are some interesting moments on this EP. The standout track has to be the Jeff Buckley-esque Dirty Water, a song so emotive, the lack of production works. The track mixes Massive Attack-like beats with rousing guitars, but the real strength of the song lies in the vocals of singer Alan Kissane. While it is obvious from his flowing falsetto who the singer has taken his influence from here, anything that is even slightly reminiscent of Jeff Buckley surely deserves high praise. It is frustrating then, that the rest of the EP is so vocally mediocre.

Long Time Coming is a rather disappointing opener. It’s easy to see what the band were aiming for with this track – a kind of Emo alternative to the melancholic, atmospheric tracks a band like Elbow excels in. And they get halfway there – minor chords, electro drums, droning guitars. Yet the song is just not very good. Listenable for sure, but nothing special.

Maybe the band need to spend more time developing their sound, as there are some moments in Boundaries that are quite impressive – such as the piano heavy closer Everything As It Should Be, a song Keane wish they were edgy enough to write. Maybe sometime in the future Fabonacci will be brilliant, but then they would be Elbow, or Radiohead. Do we really need another second-rate imitation?

Laura Rodwell

Get The Boundaries EP from www.myspace.com/fabonacci

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