It's no secret that I love Fat History Month. They hit that sweet spot of experimental noise delivered with huge swings in volume and complexity. They work in a post punk and a Pixies type of alien pop style equally. I'm completely on board with any direction they want to take this sound and Sean himself has turned me on to a bunch of great bands they've played shows with and I knew this split with My Dad would be another band I'd want to check out.
The FHM track, "Sad History Month, January 2012" opens with exacting acoustic guitar, a secret calm riff setting up the tension filled expansive feeding back loops of single strums turned up to the limits. Sean's vocals as usual hit right to those personal places about mom's and breakfast, with the avant garde style of Lauren Mazzacane Coners. The distortion gradually fades out for a few quieter moments of clear acoustic.
Doctor can you help me because my feelings are cheesy as fuck /
there's no cure for being a big fat baby
That's the real strength of Fat History Month for me. Sure they can work through complex arrangements and flirt with Sonic Youth feedback and messy statics, but Sean's delivery and sincerity of a sentiment like that hits home in a way that I don't think you get from a lot of bands. Self depreciating and raw but hilarious and sad. The rhythm of his acoustic slowly develops along with a gated snare that angrily clips in. An old piano plinks away in the other room, slowly picking up becoming more clear. I can't explain how great this last passage is when feedback drops out into the perfect silence of the acoustic. Sean whispers vocals in character, pushed to the limit, the kick drum destroying the wave, pushing this way past the red. It's evolving in front of you but compressed enough to jam in another set of intimate vocals. He could go on forever like this, running through a massive set of emotions, wandering this jagged soundscape.
The My Dad track, "Tom Waits for No Man" opens with a warm distanced Hammond warbling around while Dave Collis on vocal is in as extreme contrast to that cool sound. His gravelly and broken down yell. Blinking high tempered fingers on strings beyond the fret board form that quiet place to full on rim shot rhythms and Don Cab complexity. It figures they're paired together, looks like I'll add another strand to the web of Spider History Month. Quiet angst like Cap'n Jazz - even Dave's vocal is going to same place with a little bit of hardcore danger like Fucked Up. This guy's laying into his vocal chords and definitely destroying them in the process. A perfect fit for fans of FHM with three drummers and packed with more elements. They're juggling a lot, ending up at the same place as the guys from Boston.
Maybe the amount of support behind this release says something about both of these bands. This is out on, Exploding In Sound, Ranch Records, Broken World Media LVNDAD, and My Dad. Get it from the band direct on their bandcamp page or My Dad.
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