FAIRBURN ROYALS
From A Window Way Above (Two Sheds)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Just because these people are from Athens, Georgia, it seems everyone compares them to R.E.M., and that's stupid because they don't sound like that band in any way, shape or form. It's like saying "Nirvana's second CD sounded much more like Heart than their first..."

The Fairburn Royals are experimenters, not a pop machine. An aptly titled song like "Don't Force It," laid back, underscored by tom toms and an achingly beautiful guitar line in the distance and featuring haunting, reverbed vocals, is representative of the Fairburn Royals' bread and butter. Some of the songs have more energy and a higher tempo, such as "The Projectionist" and "Anti-Drug," but a close listen reveals risks being taken within those songs as well. Nobody's writing formulaic pop tunes here.

At their most introspective they remind me of Elevator To Hell, and it sounds about as DIY, as if it had been recorded in a tiny bedroom on a 100 dollar porta-studio with a single makeshift microphone. I do not say this is a bad thing. It certainly is when most bands do it, but in the hands of artists who create songs with that kind of sound in mind it can become a dreamy inner voice for the listener, a distant memory coming back.

You can call this a schizophrenic record or a diverse record, depending on your point of view. I call it mesmerizing and I play it a lot lately, but of course I love to be mesmerized, and respect a band who can do it properly. Properly means I'm riveted to the spot, feeling almost stoned by the music, but I care enough about it to hang on every word and try to get into the songwriter's head. These guys do it properly, all right.

© 2003 - DJ Johnson