Review Summary: Faux Forte toe the line of combative and pious on their emo-indebted debut.
A mantis, in their most prototypical pose, folds bladed appendages together, supplicating in their uniquely arthropod-ian way. Manhattan, KS indie rock band Faux Forte resonated with and pondered on that pious, yet frail posture on their sole release, Mantis.
Despite being short-lived, Faux Forte was able to craft a full length album with developed vision, themes, and sound. The band successfully drew influence from the 2015-contemporary indie/emo standouts (From Indian Lakes, Foxing, Turnover) without divulging into show-y noodling. Clean-to-edge of breakup guitars glisten throughout the record while the colorful percussion is tasteful, yet elevating. Centerpiece ‘Escape’ features Death Cab-esque hi-hat patterns and tasteful piano chords. Closer ‘Where It Comes From’ is a seven-plus minute epic pulling from slowcore and noise to culminate the lyrical understandings that are explored on the record.
Frontman Joel Ormord croons, whispers, and even wails in the style of Conor Murphy on Dealer. The only downside is the inconsistent execution--perhaps a result of having a secondary lead vocalist with a distinctly different vocal timbre and lyrical style. Riley Corbin’s nasal delivery on ‘Desert Boy’ and ‘Reprise’ is not out of touch with genre norms, but does leave more to be desired when combined with the simply developed messaging on his tracks. However, the duo’s periodic digressions into spoken word are a nice mix in delivery and show that La Dispute’s influence was not solely delegated to (post-) hardcore by 2015.
The record starts with piano-driven instrumental ‘Our Room’, leading into ‘I Am Not’, which sets the stage for the exploration of conflict from a combative, yet pious narrator (“Draw your blade! This is swordplay, you don’t know what you’re doing here or why...You’re all I need and I am not.”). The faith-based themes are prominent and consistent throughout the record. The messaging mirrors that of As Cities Burn, Emery, or even mainstream forebears Switchfoot as opposed to any bright-lights-arms-raised-performative modern worship/CCM act. It is an introversion to process one’s shortcomings and the hope their faith supports rather than pure proselytizing. Lead single ‘Escape’ explores the problems of complacency in life and faith: “I've always preached honesty, but honestly I've always lied to myself / I've always claimed good intentions, but rarely intended the outcome.” Of course, as is the case with this record, that level is not held consistently and there are moments of more direct Christianese, as heard on ‘Foremost’: “But I received mercy for this reason: That in me as the foremost Jesus Christ might / display his perfect patience and his kindness.” Understandably, this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it should not be the sole cause to dismiss this record.
Following the release of Mantis, Ormord released a brief solo EP and Corbin has served as an active member of KCMO indie act Faintheart. While neither member’s later output is as memorable as Faux Forte’s, this debut was a promising beginning for a band that called it quits too soon. On Mantis, Faux Forte lead us to marinate in our personal shortcomings, yearning for progress while arpeggiated guitars wash over.
Recommended tracks:
Escape
Where It Comes From
Some Things
