I had a feeling I was going I to really like For Fear by Green Palm Radiation by just reading about some of his influences ranging from Yo La Tengo to Simon and Garfunkel. For Fear is a diverse album in a number of ways. A lot of the aesthetics in the recording themselves sound different and the music can go from what sounds like ’60s inspired Velvet Underground to ’90s indie rock. The album never attempts hip-hop or anything too far in left field but it’s a little hard to define the band under a single genre.
They open with “Forest For Trees” which sounds very similar to the indie rock music I grew up on in the ’90s. It’s basic 4/4, crunchy major and minor chord type stuff aligned with bands like Guided by Voices. I really liked this song. The vocal delivery and melodies particularly stuck out to me. “Way Home” was interesting. Something about this song reminded me of The Beatles. It’s almost like The Beatles discovered indie rock. “In The Haze” is where the aesthetic of the recording changes considerably. It’s another really good song with catchy vocal melodies. “Strategy” could have been a Yo La Tengo B-side. Loved it. “Raise” mixes a similar vibe with a tinge of garage rock while “Rain Delay” contains bright acoustic guitars that have a ’60s folk feel to it. “Lean-To” is atmospheric and dreamy that might help you relax while “Superball” has a good amount of kinetic energy that was really infectious. “Lovesick Lake” is almost pure atmosphere so much so that Pink Floyd comes to mind. The song had a very cosmic sound. “Shut Out” was one of my favorites. The organ and whirlwind of instrumentation combined with some of the most notable vocal melodies make for a psychedelic sound. “For Family, Fear, and Fair” is ethereal and borderline magical sounding at points. They close with the cerebral and melancholy “Essay On Dreams.” They are very subdued here and pull it off. As an engineer I have a lot of thoughts. It wouldn’t have been easy even for the best mastering engineers but getting a more unified sonic imprint to the songs would have made the experience feel more like an album. I know those days are long dead but I still prefer listening from beginning to end. It’s not even the writing that was different. It was strictly the engineering side which made me feel I was listening to self-contained islands of songs with different tones, textures, compression techniques, RMS levels and EQ curves All that being said I really thought these songs were great. The band has no lack of tools or talent. I thought the songs were well performed and written with plenty of emotional depth. Recommended.
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