Album review: Fake Fancy – New People (EP)

Self-described as “a boy and a girl that met over their mutual love for hardcore evangelical conservative beliefs and tequila shots,” an admittedly tongue-buried-firmly-in-cheek wry ironic smile weaves itself in and out of the tracks that make up the new EP from Fake Fancy, entitled New People.

 
At its core, this is two-person, boy-meets-girl lo-fi garage pop, reminiscent of Kansas City area darlings Schwervon!, only featuring a much more prevalent electronic edge. The lazy comparisons of The Black Keys or The White Stripes could certainly be applicable as well, but there is a deeper range of tone and darkness that deserves being mentioned here. A real separation from those two aforementioned duos comes from the wholesome balance established between the melancholy David Byrne vocal stylings of John Elijah against the more pure and sunshiny Sheryl Crow sound of Katie Vah. Coupled with the witty and elevated lyrical prowess, Fake Fancy rises above being “just another two-piece indie rock band.”
 
The EP has a multiple personality disorder in the best of ways, featuring a stirring amount of variance amongst six songs that come in at a total of eleven minutes. The sweet afternoon breeze strains of “If A Man Made A Machine” and “Summer Hours” provide trancelike respites from the more avant-garde, chaotic moments in “I Have A Drum Machine” and “Mild Violence.” “We Hold Hands” and “Aqua Teen” show Fake Fancy at its best, with head-bobbing beats, tight harmonies, and accessible yet charmingly odd instrumentation firing on all cylinders.
 
Overall, this is a tidy little slice of pop music. With a sonic landscape that effortlessly bounces from Downy fresh to the kind of sticky grime you find in an old broken down engine block, Fake Fancy makes no efforts to pigeon hole itself into one kind of sound.
 
–Zach Hodson
 
Zach Hodson is a monster. He once stole a grilled cheese sandwich from a 4-year-old girl at her birthday party. He will only juggle if you pay him. I hear he punched Slimer right in his fat, green face. He knows the secrets to free energy, but refuses to release them until Saved by the Bell: Fortysomethings begins production. He is also in Dolls on FireDrew Black & Dirty Electric, and Riot Riot Riot, as well as contributing to various other Kansas City-based music, comedy, and art projects.
 
Fake Fancy will be on KKFI 90.1 FM tonight, on High Voltage Rock N’ Roll Radio Show to release the album at midnight. The band will be playing at Jackpot Music Hall on Thursday, July 31, with 2twenty2, Little Time Off, and Onward to Glory!. Check them out.
 
 
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