THE FAIR ATTEMPTS are a new name to us, as they likely are to you. The story behind this band – which is a solo project, surprisingly – follows the tale of Friendly Timo, who was in an industrial metal band (THE CYAN VELVET PROJECT) some years ago. They were on the rise, but he had to put that career on hold in order to take care of his wife after she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The journey was a rocky ride, resulting in this project and its first EP, “arisTotal,” which came out today on February 8th, 2019.
First of all, let me emphasize that I am not a fan of Gothic music. With that in mind, I rather liked this album. It has that sort of repetitive, slow beat that Gothic and synthwave music often has, but even though I listened to it largely in the background, I found myself drawn to it at times as the music was interesting enough to snag my attention.
The overall feel seems like it was largely influenced by the experience of caring for someone suffering from MS, as the lyrics in “A Day of Concern” go on about, “don’t kill your doctor because he’s killing you.” If they aren’t direct references (I hope his wife’s doctor wasn’t actually killing her) to the situation, I suspect that they were at least somehow inspired by it. The concept itself would be interesting to hear about, and I’m also curious what the album’s name means.
The production on the album is quite basic, but that’s not surprising coming from a new band on the scene. The balance of the sound overall is quite decent; in fact, that somewhat garage band-y sound and the hint of grit in the mix almost suits the gloomy Gothic vibe of the whole thing.
The album, at least in my opinion, gets a bit better as it goes on, ending with my two favorite songs, “Catwalk” and the Chemical Warfare remix of the first track, “Blowback.” The latter of these has a bit more of a prog-rock/metal sound to it, which appeals to me a bit more for obvious reasons (I like prog and metal). The EP is only 21 minutes long, so it’s the perfect length for a quick listen, if need be.
Ultimately, this album is a good showcase of some clear skill with industrial/synthwave music, and if you’re into that sort of music, I’d definitely suggest at least hearing what this band has to offer. While I cannot say if we’ll be seeing this band live around town anytime in the future, due to the circumstances, this album might at least be worth adding to your playlists!
Written by Bear Wiseman
Musicalypse, 2019
OV: 1374
Tracklist
- Blowback
- Bad Battery
- Aristotal
- A Day of Concern
- Catwalk
- Blowback – Chemical Warfare remix
Lineup
Friendly Timo
Label
Independent
Links
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