Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Far - "at night we live"



Far has regrouped and recorded At Night We Live, their long awaited follow-up to 1998’s classic Water & Solutions, and their first release in over twelve years. During their break, singer Jonah Matranga was active with his solo project onelinedrawing and his bands New End Original and Gratitude. While not getting the attention they deserved a decade ago, Far has gained a loyal following of new fans who have since discovered the band’s legacy and they have created a new album that lives up to our expectations.

We don’t have to wait long before we’re reminded of Jonah’s trademark wailing scream on the chorus of the first single, “Deafening” with a heavy, giant riff. Stand out track “If You Cared Enough” features a bombastic, arena-sized chorus. The atmospheric “When I Could See” captures their unique sound so well; it sounds like it was recorded during the Water & Solutions sessions. “Give Me A Reason” is bouncy and catchy with a contrastingly heavy riff on the chorus. “Dear Enemy” will soon be a live favorite as it is aggressively heavy with an off-beat breakdown at the end. Even with its tongue-in-cheek title, “Fight Song #16, 233, 241” is a slice of seminal SoCal hardcore complete with fist-in the air gang vocals but with a sugary radio-friendly chorus. The title track, “At Night We Live” was written about a dream Jonah had about his friend Chi Cheng, the Deftones bassist who remains in a “minimally conscious" state due to a car accident and features an emotionally soaring chorus. One curveball on the album is “Better Surrender” which is like a heavier take on Brit-pop or power-pop. Also featured is their cover of Ginuwine’s “Pony” that they recorded when they first regrouped and played secret shows under the fake band name Hot Little Pony and needed a song for their MySpace page.

Most reunion albums sound half-hearted and fail to meet the fan’s expectations but after twelve years, Far returned and didn’t try to imitate the bands they influenced but remained true to their sound and have created a proper follow-up to Water & Solutions.

Download "Deafening" here: http://s3.amazonaws.com/site-images.vagrant.com/audio_items/267/01_Deafening.mp3

For more info click here: http://thebandfar.com/ and www.vagrant.com/ and www.myspace.com/far

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