Review Summary: Uncharted Worlds
The case of the band called Faunts is a curious one. The formerly unknown Edmonton-outfit found themselves thrust into the spotlight with the release of the video-game Mass Effect In 2007, since their space-rock magnum opus “M4-Pt. 2” provided closure in the final moments of the hugely successful game. Faunts however didn’t seem to be really ready for this kind of attention, previously they had only released the shoegazy and fairly obscure “High Expectations / Low Results” to relatively little fanfare. The sweeping chorus and climactic structure of M4 Pt.2 marked a major departure from their previous sound. Listening to their 2009 follow up “Feel.Love.Thinking.Of.” one could hardly shake the feeling that the band was chasing a second sleeper hit, as they dropped most of their layered and textured electronic antics and released a set of slightly electronic, very polished and straightforward indie rock songs. Alas, the band failed to strike gold a second time, although their second LP was reviewed favorably, ultimately none of the singles had any staying power and no song achieved the cult status that “M4-Pt.2” managed to reach. Following the release of “Feel.Love.Thinking.Of.” the band faced a creative crossroads and instead of trying to chase the modicum of popularity they enjoyed for a brief moment, they went silent. For seven years. (Aside from releasing a remix and b-side album in 2012)
Seven years is an eternity for a relatively unknown band, hell it’s a long time for a household name. One could speculate as to what took them so long to come up with new material, but ultimately, that would be a moot point anyway, since the real question was, what could a new Faunts release really offer in 2016? Enter Ostalgia Volume I, planned as the first part of a five-part compilation, Ostalgia Volume I technically only features a single song called “Thirty-Three”, which is broken into five different chapters. While the meager run-time of just eighteen minutes, may hint at a throwaway release, Ostalgia Volume I actually marks a pivotal point in their career. As the EP opens with the ever-shifting and off-kilter “Departure”, one could be tempted to think that Faunts took the famous “back to the roots” approach and regressed into making roughly the same music as they did in 2005.
This however proves to be a false assumption, as soon as “Departure” gently glides into the dreamy and mellow “Remembered” the listener will notice, that the band is striving to combine the approaches taken on “High Expectations / Low Results” and “Feel.Love.Thinking.Of” respectively. While the more complex and layered approach to songwriting is back and they once again are trying to create a more moody atmosphere, the band is also successfully incorporating more hooks into their experimental sound.
Their new approach works stunningly well, because of the almost excessive amount of care which has been put into the crafting of the soundscapes has not been wasted on meandering and unfocused songs. This time it’s been used to enrich already solid song-structures. Album Highlight “Remembered” is a perfect example with its chanted chorus, hushed vocals and tightly controlled build up being almost (but not quite) washed away by an increasingly layered wall of sound. Even more impressive than the individual chapters is, that they managed to make every song distinct enough to be memorable, but still so cohesive that the whole EP feels like a single song. Themes, melodies and even lyrics are freely dropped and revisited, but a notion of cohesion is never getting into the way of an enjoyable individual moment. Chapters effortlessly glide and drift into each other, but there is a distinct flavor to each and every part.
By traversing both familiar and uncharted sonic territory and recommitting themselves to a focused approach to songwriting, Faunts managed to deliver their most balanced and mature offering yet and delivered a comeback that was worth the wait.
