Oh dear. The latest in a long, long line of Strokes wannabes, the Fades seem to have missed the point somewhat. A London based four piece, the London stations have been selling them to their listeners with praise and live sessions, but you have to ask – why?

‘You Say’ opens with a guitar riff reminiscent of the Libertines, but the similarities end there. Whilst the Lib’s have carved a name out with their wry lyrics and throaty vocals, the Fades sound like wannabes. The actual song seems to have nothing to do with the opening riff; in fact I’d go as far as to say someone bolted it on when they weren’t looking. The vocals are almost as uninspiring as the lyrics: "You say you’re good for me / Well I’m not so sure / These things you do to me / I can’t take no more". An Ivor Novello awaits I feel.

‘1995’ starts off promisingly enough, with a fucked-up fuzzy guitar scream, but as soon as the song kicks in the whole thing dies. The only lyric I could make out was ‘1995’, and after I’d heard that a few times I denounced that year from history, erasing it from all my books, records and calendars.

When the wheels finally fall off the garage rock bandwagon, the Strokes and the Libertines will be able to look back with pride at the reaction to their music and how they inspired a scene. Bands like Hoggboy will be able to look back fondly at a time when their music was fashionable. And the Fades, well, they’ll be able to tell their friends down the Rose & Crown how they had a record deal once.

It’s out of character for me not to say something positive about a piece of music. I believe that there is good to be found in even the worst dirge. But I’ve looked and, sorry, I can’t find anything worth praising about this band. A good example of bad imitation.


Track Listing
You Say
1995