Faker
Be The Twilight
EMI


For a band that was initially touted as sounding like some new mod band out of London, we Aussies have been extremely supportive of Faker. It's not a hard thing to love them, though, with a sound so well crafted, a knack for making scarily catchy pop music and an eccentric singer who can wash my hair any day. Upon attending a recent show, where the majority of tracks played were from this very record, the energy they instill in all their music surfaced as a clear reason why the band is constantly on the rise. And maybe it's the singer.

Said singer Nathan Hudson confesses to carrying dark stories while writing this record, so forgiveness should be instantly offered for beautifully moody Tim Rogers-esque moments like Kid, Please Try Harder. The sexy number Sleepwalking also appears a gloomy one but is brought to life by groovy guitar work and a traditional Faker vocal lead. Back to mainly original form for the rest of the record, Hudson's awesomely smooth and quick phrasing and lyrical collation on Dumb Mistakes and the energetic Are You Magnetic? adds a new complexion to the well established sound that Faker have kindly pilfered from, most noticeably, The Cure. At best this record can be filed into the pop category in your iTunes, especially because tracks like the smooth Voodoo Economics, Killer On The Loose and the effervescent Lazybones (love that muted, musty solo) emerge as stars of the release.

After blinding success with 'Addicted Romantic', kudos must be paid to the Sydney-siders for not attempting to make another Hurricane, by using ooh-la-la-las at any given chance. In fact, nothing comes close to the mega hit that spawned a spate of erratic jigs (a-la Hudson in the video filmed in a library) amongst almost everyone and this calls for respect and helps produce a very smart record.

Monika Laskowski