Fables from a mayfly download

I never cease to wonder at the creativity demonstrated in melding of musical styles more than a half-century after disc jockeys like Alan Freed introduced eager American audiences to that unique blend of Southern blues and rural country known as rock and roll. Fair to Midland are just the latest marvel in that evolution. Four stars. This band started out by releasing two albums on their own and by pleasing the locals of their home state of Texas.

They did so well there, that they decided to try their luck in other parts of the country, but did not fare so well I'm guessing because their music is quite complex. It got to the point that the band was going to break up and call the whole thing a failure, but right at the last minute, they caught the attention of Serj Tankian the lead singer from "System of a Down". He signed them onto his label and was available for advise and became the executive producer for this album.

So, if I was to compare the music to other progressive bands out there, I would have to say this music is as versatile and inventive as dredg at their best. There are not a lot of instrumental breaks or solos here, except on the instrumental interludes. But the band works together flawlessly and flow from so many styles and meters without a hitch.

The biggest draw for this band and their biggest thing they have going for them is their versatility and the vocals of Darroh Sudderth. His range matches the versatility of their style point for point.

He has a slight warble in his voice when singing softer or more folk style songs that makes him believable in those passages, but he can switch to an amazing falsetto that's just as strong as anything, and still pull off a low guttural heavy rap as good as Serj can and sound just as authentic. It does not merely build off the EP, but instead it cascades the ideas brought forth on that pre-release and turns them into a full-fledged epic release.

Because the band has been fortunate enough to land on Serjical Strike Records , which was founded by System of a Down front man Serj Tankian, Fair to Midland has found one of the few labels that will allow the creative expression necessary to succeed. Each individual song is good enough to stand on its own, but once you've heard the album all the way through a few times, any reference to a single song will eventually cause you to want to hear that song, which will lead you to want to hear the song after that.

And so on, and so on. A disclaimer for long-time fans of Fair To Midland : Many of the tracks on this album can be found on inter. So if you are a long-time fan and are looking for new music, stop reading now.

Go buy the album. The production and recording improvements alone should make this purchase worthwhile. But I digress…. The album opens with "Dance of the Manatee", which, I have been told, is getting airplay on stations across America.

As well it should. It is a solid track that encapsulates many of the things that make Fair to Midland as unique as the band is good. This version seems a little more "produced" than the EP version, but is nonetheless a highlight of both releases.

A deep, chunking guitar serves as a musical backdrop as lead singer Darroh Sudderth mixes in a vocal range that spans both ends of the spectrum. All the while, the bass, drums and keyboards help spin the melody into a thoroughly engaging tune. Romantic Evening Sex All Themes. Articles Features Interviews Lists. Streams Videos All Posts. My Profile. Advanced Search. Track Listing.

Dance of the Manatee. Kyla Cries Cologne. April Fools and Eggmen. A Seafarer's Knot. Walls of Jericho.