Fair to Midland - Fables From A Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True (Album)
From looking at the cover of Fair to Midland's album, I was expecting something along the lines of Bright Eyes or The Shins, in the sense that I was expecting quirky, alternative tunes. That isn't exactly what I got. “Quirky” certainly is an accurate description however. So is eccentric, scattered and just plain weird.
Nothing about Fables From A Mayfly really makes sense. You combine floating melodic keys, with a bassline that is too obvious for me to be really comfortable with, and choruses that owe more to nu-metal than to melodic alt-rock, and you get the basic formula on which the album is based.
One thing that really bothers me is the inconsistency of the vocals. Vocalist Darroh Sudderth sounds uncomfortable the whole way through. Verses and choruses are sung in a falsetto reminiscent of Claudio from Coheed and Cambria. Then this is juxtaposed against vocals in the breakdown parts of songs like 'Dance of the Manatee' that remind me so much of Dave Draiman of Disturbed that I really can't help but laugh.
If I wanted to be fair I could describe the whole album as an ambitious affair. Fair to Midland should be applauded for attempting to do something a bit different from the mainstream. However, I can't help but feel that they fell completely short on this count. The nu-metal influences are very dated and really do not work against the backdrop of the melodic keyboards. It makes me wonder how seriously I should be taking this band, especially coupled with lyrical references to swords and mystical creatures in tracks like 'Kyra Cried Cologne'.
The reality is that Fair to Midland have created an album where its elements struggle against one another rather than work together. The original sound and approach will probably find an appeal to some audience, but in this respect, Fables From A Mayfly, really is a hit or miss album. You will either love its quirks and weirdness, or, like me, you'll find everything about it incredibly grating.
