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Album Reviews

Okay, let's get this out of the way. No review of US emo-rockers Further Seems Forever can pass by without a mention of Chris Carrabba, their original lead singer who left the band, started an acoustic sideline called the Dashboard Confessional, and ended up with seven-figure album sales and hysterical adulation from teenage girls America-over.

Perhaps it was fortunate for the remaining members of Further Seems Forever that they hadn't "made it" when Carraba chose to jump ship. After all, many bands struggle to keep their shape after the fans' siren disappears (Black Sabbath and Sepultura being cases in point). As it is, they recruited whipper-snapper vocalist Jason Gleason and, judging by the sounds emanating from How To Start A Fire (finally getting a proper release in the UK), have managed to consign Carraba to a box marked "quickly forgotten".

Further Seems Forever appear to have two principal modus operandi. The louder mode is exemplified by songs such as the title track, The Sound and Against My Better Judgement. Here, angular guitars, jagged rhythms and Gleason's implausibly pure singing voice combine to create well-crafted songs with subtly memorable choruses. And, although these songs definitely rock, they are never overbearingly aggressive and imply that commercial crossover is not an ambition harboured by Mr Carraba alone.

This thesis is lent more weight by Further Seem Forever's "other", softer side. A Blank Page Empire is a tender confession of moral struggle ("Awake in this cold cell / I am my only devil") with Gleason singing his little heart out, while I Am is a near-beautiful, semi-acoustic number that builds to an electric climax and talks of divine love for humanity ("Please tell me when you're through / Cause I may not be through with you").

Elsewhere, On Legendary, Insincerity As An Artform and Aurora Borealis continue the theme, with nice guitar touches, unorthodox minor key changes and choruses that wouldn't be out of place on commercial rock radio.

Occasionally the band over-elaborate with the rhythms and guitar patterns, and every now and again a little more rage would not go amiss. However, this could well appeal to those with a bit of edge to their tastes, who appreciate rock without too many decibels, especially when delivered with heartfelt, sung vocals and thoughtful lyrics.

At 35 minutes in length, How To Start A Fire is short but surprisingly sweet. Dashboard who?

~ Vik Bansal

Okay this is a brief story of Further Seems Forever in a nutshell. The best example would perhaps be if I used a football scenario. Imagine, say Alan Shearer, a man vital to Newcastle United and responsible for much of their success, suddenly decided to leave the club and pursue further riches, you would imagine the club to be devastated. However, say the club managed to find an even better striker to fill his shoes, such as Ruud Van Nistelrooy or Ronaldo, you would find yourself in Further Seems Forever’s shoes.

Basically this band, up until now, was famous for being the band that spawned Chris Carabba, the man famous for his solo project Dashboard Confessional. For any band, replacing the singer is hard enough, but to replace Chris Carabba, who is effectively ‘Mr Emo’, is a colossal task. But in Jason Gleason, the band has struck gold, and now Further Seems Forever can see their name heard for all the right reasons.

Jason Gleason is easily one of the finest vocalists out there. He’s that good. Songs like ‘The Deep’ showcase this. Although the song itself is a mighty fine tune, it’s Jason’s vocals that make the song so powerful it literally sent shivers down my spine, and I can only name about three other bands who have managed to do that, and I have heard a lot of bands (any guesses as to whom they were put in the post comments section!).

In fact every song manages to show how talented a singer Gleason is. ‘I Am’, ‘Pride War’ and ‘On Legendary’ are simply beautiful thanks to his voice. They’re superb songs as well and the whole band deserves credit for writing such brilliant, in fact epic, anthems.

The only thing that stops this being the perfect album is the minor lack of consistency. The songs are all fantastic, but the slower numbers do at times sound too ‘soft rock’ or even ‘stadium rock’ for my liking, rather than emotional hardcore. By the time the distortion kicks in on ‘A Blank Page Empire’ my attention was sort of lost. They are still excellent, artistic songs that deserve one’s attention, but it’s more the fact that the likes of upbeat ‘The Sound’ and the heftier ‘How To Start a Fire’ are two of the best songs I have ever heard. The result is that the slower efforts sound dreary, when by any other band’s standards they would be anything but. As a result you find yourself continually wanting to skip to the more instant tracks, so in a way their talent is their worst enemy because their finer songs are so damn good – and most importantly catchy, that you find yourself wanting to hear them over and over again rather than the whole CD in one.

But every song is still a superb song. Atmospheric, moving, upbeat, introspective, inspiring – they have it all. To me this album is still more a hint of what’s to come from the band, who let’s not forget are still relatively new to their current line-up, and that is what’s most exciting. I think to get the full five stars a few more infectious moments like ‘The Sound’ are needed, but it’s very damn close to the full five, a score I am certain they will receive in due course.

Standout Tracks: ‘The Sound’, ‘How To Start a Fire’, ‘On Legendary’, ‘The Deep’, ‘Pride War’

~ Alex Mills

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