After five years
Fair Warning has returned to the fold with their first new album since "Four".
"Brother's Keeper" wastes no time with introductions and kicks right in where the band left off. It has the similiar over produced, super slick sound that was the make it or break it factor for both "Four" and the previous "Go!" Compared to the likes of their original two releases, including the fabulous "Rainmaker",
"Keeper" is a rather pedestrian installment. That fresh magic kind of wilted out of the band after "Rain", so I wasn't really expecting anything along those lines. Therefore this new one doesn't disappoint, it just delivers that which is familiar and expected.
Like the two last releases that this is patterned after, the songs run together like tipped buckets of paint mixing into a single solid colour before the journey's end. A few pop out of the mix such as the bluesy
"Once Bitten Twice Shy" which could have been a leftover from Tommy
Heart's
Soul Doctor sideproject. The moodier
"In the Dark" is quickly becoming one of my favorite FW songs. The band takes a leap of faith here and the gamble really pays off. Guitars are rougher and chunkier and Tommy
Heart puts a little grit into his voice. Then the chorus kicks in and its huge and addictive without going overboard.
"Generation Jedi" is another winner that sees them going full throttle rock and a nice thick chorus sporting a great hook.
There really isn't anything wrong with the album at all, other than a sense of sameness. It is the typical type of music that
Fair Warning fans have been clamoring for.
"The Way" kind of wanders around but finds itself in the end as a nice mid tempo rock song. There is the big ballad
"All of My Love" and the midtempo semi ballad
"Wasted Time" which serve as two welcome stops along the rockin road. Representing the hard rockers are
"Don't Keep Me Waiting" which was pulled as the single yet shows no distinctive traits other than being a middle of the road uptempo piece and the thunderstruck
"Push Me On" which has infinitely more personality. Bonus track
"Still I Believe" takes a route leading to roads heavier with the melodic feel and for closure,
"All I Wanna Do" ends
"Keeper" on a happy-go-lucky note. Nothing out of the ordinary that we haven't heard the band do before in these pieces but quality music nonetheless.
The gleeful, German-rockers -on-a-sugar-high formula is still the prominent force behind the music. Tommy
Heart still sounds like Klaus Miene gone soft (Scorpions) and the guitars hold a different tone than the norm, as they always have. Familiar elements make
"Brother's Keeper" the music listening equivelant of snuggling up in a warm, beloved blanket that you haven't seen in years but recently rediscovered. With all the frayed edges and musty scents intact. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but if they neglect to show growth and play it safe once again with the next disc, such leeway will not be given next time around.
Written by
Alanna Sunday, August 20, 2006
Show all reviews by AlannaRatingsAlanna: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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