In Fervor - Anatomy of a Memory
In Fervor definitely fall outside the indie realm, but that doesn’t mean that their interesting blend of angular guitar lines, typical post-grunge subject matter, and use of minimalist technique to achieve a total sound keep the band from producing interesting music. Not too experimental but not entirely conventional, In Fervor prove to have mastered the value of restraint during this short album, which had the case been otherwise, the band’s intelligent edge would have been lost. Each phrase is carefully written and engineered to fit into the band’s whole sound: the math rock technique being applied to traditional 90’s-rock song structure. The best I can do to “place” this band is to say that they’re a hybrid of Slint, and, well…Seven Mary Three!
“Hammer Song” opens the album as Richard Martin’s husky voice croons over a skittish riff that’s a conglomerate of David Kaplan’s melody-carrying bass playing, Wayne Schneiderman’s intricate drums work, and Mark Bannayan’s lead guitar counterpoint. The ever-changing refrain displays so many chord changes and points of emphasis, setting the precedent for the rest of the album’s good use of transitions and understanding of tonal shade. Rather than break into angry-rock-core, Martin instead imbues some whispered intensity to a few choice words during this track: a fine choice. By the time we reach the histrionic guitar solo and its briefly pedal-driven ending, we know that we’re listening to some good old fashioned rock music and that we don’t need to feel guilty about enjoying it.
Martin’s lyrics seem to be shadows of Kurt Cobain’s themes of overall angst: “Looking down suicide street/Shaking hands with people they meet.” (from “Map the Sketch Plan”) “I believe in parasites/I believe in failure/Ever since I was an 18 ager” (from 18 ager) There are exceptions: the closer “Mandolin” seems to be a story of a homeless revolutionary in a third-world country: “I live in the shadow of a concrete light/Misty thoughts against an open sky/Never would I say/It’s just another day.”
The real beauty of Anatomy of a Memory, however, is its musical writing. Rising builds are placed against lines of verse delivered a capella, breaking up those builds. Noisy bridges which seem to be going full throttle are in fact possessing considerable reserve. Delicately picked guitar lines emote introspection, though it may be slightly unbalanced introspection. And in spite of all this attention to detail, In Fervor never fail to really rock in the fullblown mainstream meaning of the word. “Wheels to Turn” uses a catchy twist of Soundgarden’s “Spoonman” riff, complete with exciting little pick sweeps at the end of phrases. Serving as bookends to this track, drones of actually interesting disharmonied feedback swirl around.
However, the “album” is given an odd length. It’s too long to be just an EP, and too short to be a full-sized record.
In Fervor probably also take themselves a little too seriously, which we can deduce from the ultra serious album title and bandname, but I say, let them do whatever they want. This band’s creativity has taken them thus far to artistically good places. I mean, they’ve truly managed to dovetail intelligent writing and real of-the-earth rock’n’roll. That’s pretty good.
