Track Listings
1 Collide (3:26)
2 Under My Skin (3:57)
3 Something Must Be Happening (3:12)
4 Alcatraz (5:07)
5 Pretty You (2:47)
6 Round and Round (3:44)
7 Pusherman (3:26)
8 Now She's 24 (4:01)
9 Drift Away (4:14)
10 Strangest Thing (4:11)
11 Burn (2:33)
12 Splendid (6:06)

Discography
Too Broken To Break (2007)
It's the Way That You Use It Ep (2004)
Goesaroundcomesaround (1999)

Release Date: (September 14, 1999)
Label: Big Deal Records
Producer:

December  Hotel 
Overall Rating:  +++-

(Drift Away)

Having played together for several years, the members of the band Seven decided to change their name and go for a more progressive sound. The result is Fono and the album goesaroundcomesaround. Opening with adrenaline pumped Police-ish "Collide" tinged with a bit of techno (with very little techno elsewhere on the CD), these British boys show that they know how to rock. The guitars throughout are extremely tight and the entire album is well produced with lots of extra technical touches that make the album bear up under repeated listens. Their sound mixes the pop of The Police with harmony laden choruses, melodic guitars with the standard alternative radio-friendly sound of the day, and uplifting lyrics. Imagine Goo Goo Dolls or Third Eye Blind with a positive message.
"Pretty You" finds singer Del Currie singing of unrequited love while Ian Crawford (it's a British band… there HAS to be someone named "Ian") and Andy Ridley back him on bass and drums in an exceptionally strong and catchy chorus. One of the better songs, "Round and Round" rips off the main verse melody from Zeppelin's "Going to California", stuffing it full of steroids and matching it with a Police influenced bridge. The song of theirs currently getting airplay is "Now She's 24", a gentle, flowing acoustic tune with touches of Jars of Clay and a singable anthem chorus. "Strangest Thing" moodily finds inspiration in the trials of life amidst a moving bass and drum groove. Of the twelve songs on the album, two are simply incredible while the rest are very solid… no dogs in the bunch. These songs are not creative works of genius, pushing musical boundaries to their breaking point. Instead Fono has taken the musical language of today and have created twelve very well-crafted, energetic songs that bear repeated listens and are easily the equal of most anything on "alternative" radio.

~ gristlepop.tripod.com

This is not your parents' album.

From its opening measures, this action-movie of an album rocks with the veracity of a live performance. In the classic tradition of three-piece bands, Fono is in-your-face power rock, developed out of performances before a live audience, with all the ensuing strengths and weaknesses.

GoesAroundComesAround, for all its loud reveling (and this album should definitely be played loud), takes some getting used to. Early listens reminded me of the seminal PFR rocker Great Lengths, but it lacks PFR's melodic playfulness, musical explorations, and lyrical strength.

As the album grows on the listener, the overwhelmingly direct simplicity of the music is both its forte and its fault. 'Collide' kicks off the album's potent head-banging fury, but by 'Round and Round' all you are left with is a banging head. 'Fade Away' is an album standout that could hold its own with any of the alt-rock songs currently dominating the radio airwaves. Most of the album, though, fades away into enjoyable but generally indistinguishable guitar riffs and cymbal crashes.

While fun for a moshing mob of teenagers, there is little in this album to keep the listener interested. The lyrics are disjointed strings of cryptic five-word catch phrases strung end to end for four minutes. Each chorus consists of the song's title sung exactly four times, followed by another verse or short bridge, and (voila!) back to the chorus. The music is well produced, and the band members are talented musicians, but the album feels like a 12-song concert without all the crowd noise.

If your idea of Christian music is that it should provide a viable alternative to secular radio, then this is an album to distribute at youth group events. Fono will likely make quite an impression on the summer music festivals, and GoesAroundComesAround should get plenty of raucously loud play in the quarantined rooms of high schoolers throughout the US and UK. Have fun with this one, but don't expect too much. (Tim Y.)

Tim Y.

Fono  (homepage)