Review Summary: Inter.funda.stifle is an overlooked masterpiece-living undeservedly in the shadows of the following major-label releases.
Inter.funda.stifle is truly a forgotten beauty. For too many of Fair to Midland’s fans, their career may as well have started with major label release
Fables From A Mayfly. It’s a shame really as the truth is far from it. Before they broke into the mainstream (although I use that term loosely-they are still not a popular or “mainstream” band, so to speak) with
Fables, Fair to Midland released two independent LP’s; their debut,
Carbon Copy Silver Lining, and this. When this album is examined by the average Fair to Midland listener, it is all too often dismissed as a poorly produced prototype of the follow-up due to it sharing 6 tracks (or 7 if you count a short instrumental piece that was merged onto another song in
Fables) with the latter. This is hardly the case, and one will realize as soon as the album is given the fair chance it deserves that
Inter.funda.stifle is a completely different record as opposed to
Fables From A Mayfly.
The album slowly creeps in with short instrumental piece "Preambles in 3rd Person" before the quiet is torn apart by the thrashing opening riffs of "Dance of the Manatee." It is obvious from the start of the song that the production and sound quality is much poorer than the gleaming, polished
Fables counterpart. This is true for the entire album-the production and sound quality is pretty low in comparison, but it was an independent release after all. Although this may seem off-putting at first, you will quickly stop noticing as other thoughts begin to appear. For example, this version of "Dance of the Manatee" has a certain energy that is alarmingly lacking in the
Fables adaptation. Also, the deep, throaty growling is far superior here, perhaps surprisingly.
But I really should stop comparing the album to
Fables From A Mayfly – as I said, this is a completely separate album and should be treated like one.
"Vice/Versa," the following track, is also excellent. The opening riff is one of my favorites on the album-and one of my all-time favorites from Fair to Midland. The contrast between the quiet verses and the huge, soaring chorus is nice. Choruses like the one just described are frequent on this album-Fair to Midland have a knack for creating impressive, soaring and/or anthemic choruses; they do it a lot but they always pull it off and make it seem fresh.
Inter.funda.stifle is a decidedly more emotional affair than the previous and following albums. Be it the haunting, despairingly sad, bitter, or even aggressive feel of the songs, there’s no denying that fact. However, this is mostly created via the music and melodies rather than the lyrics (which are far too cryptic to make any sense to the average person), a refreshing change from all the bands trying desperately to create emotion and angst through lyrical content. The keyboardist is actually one of the biggest assets when it comes to backing these songs with so much feeling, although he doesn’t get as much of a chance to shine on this album as he does on later albums, which is a shame.
"Orphan Anthem ’86"-album highlight and one of the keyboardist’s “big moments” is the perfect example of this. The melodic piano, the soothing, haunting vocals, the saddening melodies of the chorus and the distorted guitar riffs merge perfectly together to create what is undoubtedly the most emotional piece Fair to Midland have ever created-and also one of the best and most beautiful. If for some reason you refuse to listen to this album, you should at least check this little masterpiece out. It will hit you hard in the face-a truly amazing song.
The album is divided by several instrumental pieces, much like
Arrows & Anchors is. Whereas some bands seem to just throw these types of tracks on for the sake of looking more artistic, they really work here and help the album flow from song to song more fluently. The album just wouldn’t be complete without the random, menacing carnival music of "Cipieron," the beautiful, haunting melodies of "Inter.Mission" or the soothing keyboard work of "When the Bough Breaks."
The songs these pieces separate-or combine, depending on how you look at it, are all of high quality. The duo of "Granny Niblo" and "Walls of Jericho" (the two flow together seamlessly) are amongst the album’s best moments. The former is a great, riff-driven song and the latter is surprisingly catchy with a fantastic chorus (that unfortunately looses some of its power due to production quality here). I never understood why "Walls of Jericho" wasn’t a single from
Fables. "Quince," the closing track, is the other of the album’s highest points. It’s no "The Greener Grass" but Fair to Midland always craft fantastic closers and they certainly don’t let up here. "Quince" is stunningly beautiful, a calm piece that avoids the loud/quiet clichés we’re all so sick of.
And the rest of the album is comprised of the irresistibly infectious choruses of "Upgrade^Bridgade," the "Abigail" and "Timbuktu" combo that just isn’t right when separated, the bitter, mild aggression of "Kyla Cries Cologne", and the surprisingly catchy, all around solid track "A Seafarer’s Knot."
There really isn’t a disappointing track on this album. For that matter, there isn’t a track on here that is anything less than fantastic. This isn’t just the prototype version of
Fables From A Mayfly it is so often dismissed as; it is as individual a record as
Arrows & Anchors or
Carbon Copy Silver Lining or any Fair to Midland release. For the listener more familiar with the major label records, it’ll take a little getting used to. But in the end, the imperfect edge to Darroh’s astounding vocals and the raw unedited sound created by the lack of polished production grew to be one of my favourite things about the album; they gave it an energy akin to that of live performances.
There’s no other way to describe this album: it’s a hidden gem, forgotten treasure, an overlooked masterpiece. You won’t regret a single second you spend listening to this release.
Recommended Tracks:
1. "Orphan Anthem '86"
2. "Quince"
3. "Granny Niblo"
4. "Walls of Jericho"
5. "Dance of the Manatee"
