Julia Conny
11/28/06, 10:34 PM
Faulter - Darling Buds Of May
Record label: Abacus Recordings
Release Date: September 19, 2006
My cheap speakers buzzed from an Ikea bookshelf where the rest of my significant life rotated into regular playlists – The Juliana Theory, The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World, Hey Mercedes and more. After books and classes and predictable high school flusters, I would sink into my billion bed pillows and soak up the darling melodies through my fiending pores. Those were certainly the days, and while I’d like to believe my naïve gaze has toughened up a bit, I’m not opposed to re-discovering that same fresh-faced emotional rock.
This brings me to Faulter and their debut Abacus Recordings full length, Darling Buds Of May. From the gate, we’ve got a good hand clap, modest, reflective verses, and no exhausted trials of Bleed American look-alikes. I’m quite impressed with the immediately accessible “October 16th” and its gentle compliments of female vocals, flush and echoing guitar lines, and a number of touchdowns from Jimmy Eat World’s playbook. Professional packages of instrumental arrangements not only rack up sweet-toothed choruses but clever bridges - my ultimate soft spot. A good portion of the 11 tracks dip into acoustic guitar and piano rock heritages, and they are just as good as the speedier, guitar-driven rammers (see “Chaos & Monotony” versus the title track). I find it interesting and impressive that Abacus Recordings, noted distributor of harder, more cutting bands like Planes Mistaken For Stars and Turbonegro, choose to ink the Orange County, CA quintet. Whatever instincts they followed will, hopefully, pay off.
Faulter tiptoes electronics on “I Think We Need To Talk,” and although bonuses like this barely grace the 30-second mark, they are a cunning addition. These subtle twists and moderate turns make me think that Darling Buds Of May has more to offer than an indie-pop/piano-rock fusion would normally allow. Like the aforementioned female backing of “October 16th,” the Andrew McMahon croons on “Eyes Like Stars,” and the heavy riffing and harmony combos of “Chaos and Monotony,” Faulter finds their own justice in smart, comfortable pop. With a pitch similar to Larry Soliman from My American Heart and earnest undertones paralleling a McMahon rein, vocalist Andy Carpenter spins youthful energies with the best of them. The arrangements occasionally sludge along, but Carpenter remains on point. Save a few awkward hooks, he never strains his craft and concedes to the natural flow of the melodies. This can, in turn, transcend benevolently to listeners that are bored, weathered, and frustrated with other like outfits. In terms of recording quality, Faulter employs the nifty effects a good studio can offer but never uses it as a crutch, and it’s apparent in slightly distorted fine-tuners like “Sixes & Sevens.” I expect a lasting power like Faulter’s predecessors, and if it’s not wholly realized within this release, then it certainly will after Darling Buds Of May kick-starts a well-deserved buzz.
Jimmy Eat World, Rookie Of The Year, Daphne Loves Derby, Class of 98http://www.purevolume.com/faulterhttp://www.absolutepunk.net/faulter
Record label: Abacus Recordings
Release Date: September 19, 2006
My cheap speakers buzzed from an Ikea bookshelf where the rest of my significant life rotated into regular playlists – The Juliana Theory, The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World, Hey Mercedes and more. After books and classes and predictable high school flusters, I would sink into my billion bed pillows and soak up the darling melodies through my fiending pores. Those were certainly the days, and while I’d like to believe my naïve gaze has toughened up a bit, I’m not opposed to re-discovering that same fresh-faced emotional rock.
This brings me to Faulter and their debut Abacus Recordings full length, Darling Buds Of May. From the gate, we’ve got a good hand clap, modest, reflective verses, and no exhausted trials of Bleed American look-alikes. I’m quite impressed with the immediately accessible “October 16th” and its gentle compliments of female vocals, flush and echoing guitar lines, and a number of touchdowns from Jimmy Eat World’s playbook. Professional packages of instrumental arrangements not only rack up sweet-toothed choruses but clever bridges - my ultimate soft spot. A good portion of the 11 tracks dip into acoustic guitar and piano rock heritages, and they are just as good as the speedier, guitar-driven rammers (see “Chaos & Monotony” versus the title track). I find it interesting and impressive that Abacus Recordings, noted distributor of harder, more cutting bands like Planes Mistaken For Stars and Turbonegro, choose to ink the Orange County, CA quintet. Whatever instincts they followed will, hopefully, pay off.
Faulter tiptoes electronics on “I Think We Need To Talk,” and although bonuses like this barely grace the 30-second mark, they are a cunning addition. These subtle twists and moderate turns make me think that Darling Buds Of May has more to offer than an indie-pop/piano-rock fusion would normally allow. Like the aforementioned female backing of “October 16th,” the Andrew McMahon croons on “Eyes Like Stars,” and the heavy riffing and harmony combos of “Chaos and Monotony,” Faulter finds their own justice in smart, comfortable pop. With a pitch similar to Larry Soliman from My American Heart and earnest undertones paralleling a McMahon rein, vocalist Andy Carpenter spins youthful energies with the best of them. The arrangements occasionally sludge along, but Carpenter remains on point. Save a few awkward hooks, he never strains his craft and concedes to the natural flow of the melodies. This can, in turn, transcend benevolently to listeners that are bored, weathered, and frustrated with other like outfits. In terms of recording quality, Faulter employs the nifty effects a good studio can offer but never uses it as a crutch, and it’s apparent in slightly distorted fine-tuners like “Sixes & Sevens.” I expect a lasting power like Faulter’s predecessors, and if it’s not wholly realized within this release, then it certainly will after Darling Buds Of May kick-starts a well-deserved buzz.
Jimmy Eat World, Rookie Of The Year, Daphne Loves Derby, Class of 98http://www.purevolume.com/faulterhttp://www.absolutepunk.net/faulter