The Fills - Negatives

The Fills

Negatives
​self-released; 2020

3.7 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

The Fills is an alternative rock band based out of Norman, Oklahoma that formed in 2017. They mention, “Our influences range from ‘90s rock giants like Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins, to 2000s indie rock like The Strokes, The White Stripes and Bright Eyes with a sprinkle of ’80s new wave, and much more.” I was in college about twenty years ago and funny enough my band back then was influenced by the same exact bands. The band released Negatives which embraces a lot of the same bands from my era.

The EP starts with “Inverse” which is an atmospheric song and revolves around reverb laced guitars and a number of airy elements. It’s fairly hypnotic and I enjoyed a good amount of what was happening in the background as well as the catchy vocals. As the song progresses more prominent guitars are introduced.

The band ramps things up with “My Machine” which drives a lot harder. It sounded like a mix of indie rock bands such as Arctic Monkeys and Bloc Party. All things considered it’s a straightforward song but also catchy.

They have more success with “Less Like Heaven” which is the arguable highlight in the batch. It’s again a straightforward rock song with comparisons to The Strokes being a little more obvious. “Moonshine” has its moments as well. They close with “Time Is Your Worst Enemy” and he actually sounds like Julian Casablancas on this song and I thought this song was the other highlight.

This is a complete DIY effort and the band did a solid job in terms of the production. I think working with an engineer or a least a mastering engineer would be the most obvious next steps.

The band is off to a solid start but they are currently wearing their influences on their sleeves. My experience producing bands over the last couple of decades is that bands usually start to form a singular and signature sound in two to five years in if they are lucky.

​Overall, I thought this was a good EP and ironically it will probably resonate most with people in my generation. That being said I’m glad that the new kids on the scene are keeping the flame alive.

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