Fol Chen

John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made

 

 

Released: February 17, 2009
Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Myspace: /folchen

 

By: James Cisneros

Fol Chen’s Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made is a breath of fresh air in this year’s Pop scene- that is, if you can call them Pop. Composed of contrasting melodies throughout, Part 1 manages to pair up charming and upbeat keyboard melodies against counterpoint, bland female vocals. This raises the question: Is this supposed to be one of those feel good/ easy listening albums, or is this meant to be an intricate musical experiment intended for its audiences to cautiously dissect its meaning?

Nevertheless, Part 1 is sure to impress most listeners accustomed to listening to bands such as Blonde Redhead, Liars, and Hot Chip, just to name a few. Tracks worthy of listening include “No Wedding Cake”, “The Idiot”, and “Cable TV” (which features guest vocals from Liar’s Angus Andrew).