Fanfarlo – “Let’s Go Extinct”

Fanfalo are a band who blend a whole load of influences and sounds to create some wonderful music. This does tend to make them difficult to pigeon hole in to any particular genre so may be that’s why they haven’t, yet, reached a much wider more mainstream audience. This may, however, all change with the release of their third release, “Let’s Go Extinct”.

It begins with a slow and dramatic intro to “Life In The Sky” before it moves in to an eighties sounding drum beat. Eventually the co male/female vocals of the song build it up in to an epic electro pop type sound. That eighties sound is also present on “A Distance” with the feel of the drums and keyboard. It is reminiscent of the band The Virgins, who were the next big thing a few years back. The song picks up the pace as it moves to a glorious chorus.

The track “Cell Song” has more of a dreamy feel to it and the song floats along to a great shiny chorus. This same style keeps going on “Myth Of Myself (A Ruse To Exploit Our Weaknesses)” but this time is delivered in a more dramatic and downbeat sound until it reaches a huge crescendo at the end. There are some lovely female backing vocals on “We’re The Future” and they provide some warmth against the colder keyboard sound.

It is on ” Land locked” that the band really let their pop side shine, it is a great modern, dance pop, song. The vocals here actually take on an almost Brett Anderson of Suede style. This song is certainly the one which could be the cross over big hit for the band. The pop feel is kept up with the chorus of “The Grey And Gold”. Like many of the songs on the album, it has an emotional undertone. In fact, it is as if a Smiths’ song has been given a total overhaul and turned into a proper pop song.

The title song concludes the album in the same way as it started, with a longer more epic sounding song. It opens in a slow and melancholic manner with an almost Damon Albarn/Blur feel. This time it doesn’t build up to an upbeat finale but instead it is more of a symphony of sounds that wash over you.

This is an album which is just a pleasure to listen to. It’s full of finely crafted songs which are capable of totally engaging the listener. There are bands such as MGMT who have taken a similar approach in using a, perhaps, retro electronic sound to achieve huge success. This album certainly suggests, that not only are Fanfarlo capable of that but also, more importantly, they deserve it.