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Us east coast rockers have the privilege of boasting about and parading
our assortment of American-bred alternative rock acts. NYC, after
all, is the city from which The Strokes and The Bravery
emerged. Even far and away, to Britain and beyond, we have seen a
rock culture dominated by the dance-rock grooves of Foals,
Bloc Party, and The Arctic Monkeys. But where is a rebuttal
from the west coast? It seems we have a geographic gap, a missing
piece from our coastal music scene. The answer is Funeral Party,
an LA-based group consisting of Chad Elliot, James Lawrence
Torres, Kimo Kauhola and Tim Madrid. The band's
debut album, The Golden Age Of Knowhere, fits the prerequisites
for the upcoming, "must watch" 2011 band of the year - a
mix of off-beat hi hats, clashing guitars, and, of course, a lead
singer that sounds like Julian Casablancas. But something's
off. Despite, the charm that The Golden Age Of Knowhere holds,
listening to the album often feels like a cop out, or a derivative
of something better. It's like buying the store-brand version of Fruit
Loops, or like looking at your best friend's test while the teacher
glances away - the answer is right, but it's just not the best way
of getting it.
The majority of Funeral Party's first release sounds undoubtedly
similar to dozens of other bands. And that is unfortunate, as the
group's chemistry wants to billow over the top of indie rock's sterile
beaker. The band is impeccably rehearsed and for a debut they have
accrued a collection of fine pop songs that might take other bands
half of a career to write. However, relying on formulaic structures
puts you right where the science wants you; algebraic, predictable,
replicable, and sadly, blasé. The album does, however, lend
itself to brief moments of clarity, ingenuity, and, perhaps most appropriately,
party inspiration. These sparse events, notably the dueling wah-wah
guitars on the second track "Car Wars," the John Legend
"Waiting For The World To Change" breakdown in "The
Golden Age Of Knowhere," and the Foals' drum groove in "Postcards
Of Persuasion," often come with impeccable timing - just when
one is about toss the disc into a pile of other broken-dream Strokes-wanna-bes
(see: The Answering Machine) Funeral Party manages to patch
up the sinking ship with a few nuts and bolts from other sources.
Thus, The Golden Age Of Knowhere, does not like "Funeral
Party," but rather encapsulates the sounds of the past decade
of rock music, a grim reality that has resulted in a predictable debut
from a band that will most likely soon be forgotten.
-Parker Tichko
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