Fake Problems - Real Ghosts Caught On Tape Review

Fake Problems - Real Ghosts Caught On Tape

Rating

RIYL

Against Me!
The Gaslight Anthem
Ninja Gun

Release Date

09/21/2010

Label

SideOneDummy

Tracklist

1. "ADT"
2. "5678"
3. "Songs For Teenagers"
4. "RSVP"
5. "Soulless"
6. "Complaint Dept."
7. "Done With Fun"
8. "The Magazines"
9. "White Lies"
10. "Grand Finale"
11. "Ghost To Coast"

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benny06	Firebrandead

Fake Problem’s last full-length, It's Great to Be Alive, was an absolute powerhouse of weirdness. Its southern-fried indie-punk was impossibly hard to describe, but it made for one of the best albums of 2009. Equal parts old Against Me!, Hank Williams, Phil Spector and a whole heap of narcotics, the band has always been all over the place musically. Plotting where they would go next on Real Ghosts Caught on Tape is a monumental task, and it stands to reason that no one will see it coming when the band releases a much more down-to-earth and mature album that refuses to throw in anything and everything in lieu of concise, restrained and focused songwriting.

Fans of Fake Problems previous works might find this album a little jarring, like a speeding car coming to an abrupt stop, but first time listeners will have little to be startled at. For the most part, this album feels like the comedown from the LSD trip that was It’s Great to be Alive. This feeling translates to a more low-key album with seriously lower intensity and freak-out levels. The guitars are almost always clean and focus on timeless licks and atmosphere. The drums play it cool and rarely make the listener feel like spazzing out. The vocals of Chris Farren are smoother and mostly ignore the swagger and gruff overdrive he relied on previously. Ted Hutt’s production style gives off a classic feeling and really lets the band hone in on their own sound. If Against Me! had pursued dance-y music instead of limp radio rock, or if The Gaslight Anthem’s main goal was to make people dance instead of stand and look cool, this is what it would sound like.

If this sounds like something your mom wouldn’t mind listening to, you’re not too far off. The punk is now just a minor influence and the band has somehow become smooth, but none of this means that this isn’t a phenomenal album. Opener “ADT” introduces us to the awesome clean-guitar riffs that dominate this album before getting to the deceptively catchy chorus, which sounds as full and warm as most anything you’ve ever heard. “5678” is the closest this album gets to the band’s older material, with some chaotic, dancing bass lines and over-driven vocals reminiscent of the Death From Above 1979. It’s one of those songs where not dancing and clapping along proves you to be some kind of zombie, or to at least have bad taste in music. “RSVP”, “Done With Fun” and “White Lines” allow the band to show off their country and folk influences with some raving classic chord progression and lead guitar work that would have worked just as well 50 years ago. “Soulless” has the bouncy stomp and swagger of the best ‘60s girls groups, complete with a wall-of-sound style and classic background vocals. Full-band closer “Grand Finale” has everything you’d want in an epic ending, and gives us a great build-up with gang vocals that explodes into a huge melodic climax. The final track “Ghost to Coast” has warm, haunting guitars and simple folky melodies that provide a great cap on the album. Simple lines like, “I spend most nights alone singing songs in my room, and most of them are about you,” are sung in such an honest, heartbreaking manner that feeling anything other than sad is not an option.

Gone are the chicken cluck vocals, the forays into gypsy-punk and most everything else that made Fake Problems the musical equivalent of that kid in your high school who, while brilliant, never really figured out how to not be a complete spazz in social situations. That kid is still there, but he takes less drugs and has grown up. He isn’t done maturing, but he has become something subtly special and new while retaining the indomitable spirit that made him a brilliant, yet misunderstood youngster. Real Ghosts Caught on Tape may not be the Fake Problems we were all expecting, but their maturation is going better than any of us could have guessed. Growing up has never gone so smoothly.

--Stephen Harris

Author

Stephen Harris

Last updated: 09/01/2010 06:31AM

Comments

b_myers

09/03/2010

12:08AM

Age: 29

Location
Spokane, Washington

i watched these guys at warped tour, and having never heard their music was very impressed! i'll be listening to this when it leaks for sure.

current listenings:
Of Virtue - "Heartsounds"
Capsule - "No Ghost"
Century - "Red Giant"
James Vincent McMorrow - "Early In The Morning"
Blind Pilot - "We Are The Tide"

Bill Lohr

09/03/2010

05:59AM

Age: 27

Location
Lehigh Valley, PA

i find these guys ridiculously boring.

powell.ad

09/05/2010

03:14PM

Age: 22

Location
Sunshine Coast, Australia

good review, man. No idea who this band is but you've got me a bit intrigued.

"If you want something done right, get a fucking Australian band to do it" - Chris Cheney

Zach Roth

09/05/2010

03:20PM

Age: 23

Location
Fishers, Indiana

"If Against Me! had pursued dance-y music instead of limp radio rock, or if The Gaslight Anthem’s main goal was to make people dance instead of stand and look cool, this is what it would sound like."

I was totally caught off-guard by this and started giggling. Curse you.

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