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Fol Chen Offers a Decadent Debut

Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune is Made is ambitious electro-pop at its best — sometimes

Fol Chen

Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made

Released on Feb 17, 2009

After having read a little tidbit about Los Angeles-based Fol Chen on their label’s website , I fell in love with their persona before I had even heard a note.  I mean, who doesn’t love a band whose parting words are “we are cryptic and joyful and we would like you to dance”?  The only bad thing about having a whimsical band description is that it sets the bar extremely high for your music. While Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune is Made is full of some electro-pop gems, they do end up falling slightly short of their own hype.

But, before I get down on the album, there is plenty of good worth highlighting—like the completely catchy track “Cable TV.” This is the song that’s garnered the most buzz off the album, and the second you hear it, you’ll know why. Weird sidenote: the first 20 seconds sounds almost exactly like a song from Mamma Mia!  I hope it’s just a coincidence. Terrible musicals aside, “Cable TV” is an all-around excellent song. The electronic beat is light and boppy, which allows the fantastic lyrics to shine through. Fol Chen describes the shitty motel experience perfectly, with lines like “the carpet’s filthy but the ice is free.” The band cites another electro-pop act — The Blow — as an influence, and this song is where the similarities are impossible to deny. Khaela Maricich could have easily stolen this for The Blow’s Paper Television.  Its mix of witty lyrics and electronic backings make it the embodiment of “catchy.”

While I’m on the topic of catchy, I can’t leave out “The Longer U Wait,” if only because it’s been stuck in my head for two days straight. Or, more to the point, it’s “la la la la” chorus. Besides an easy-to-remember chorus though, this track shows their ability to really play around with beats. Electronic bands always seem to be hit or miss, because they either know how to use different sound motifs, or they don’t. Fol Chen falls into the former category. Instead of the poppy, far-eastern sound of “Cable TV,” this song has a slightly more industrial, gritty feel to it.

OK, now to the less-than-stellar portions of the album. “The Idiot” is pretty awful. I know that I just gave them the electronic pat on the back by applauding their ability to play around with their sound, but this takes it a step too far. It sounds like a band member is just falling on their synthesizers and hitting random buttons in the process. From the acoustic guitar start to the choppy beats that punctuate the entire song, it’s a hot mess. It’s unfortunate too, because in terms of vocals, this is one of the strongest tracks on the album. But, I can’t divorce the great voice from the awful instrumentation going on behind it.

I’ve got to express the same negative sentiment about “The Believers.” When I listened to this song, I honestly felt like I was part of a death march in some post-apocalyptic world. I mean, I guess the band deserves credit for inspiring such an elaborate scenario in my head, but mainly, this drudging four-minute track is a depressing pain to listen to. At least “The Idiot” finds some redemption in its vocals. “The Believers” isn’t so lucky.

Given their eccentric self-description, I admit that I had very high expectations that might have been impossible for them to reach in the first place. With the exception of a couple songs, Fol Chen manages to craft an interesting electronic album, showing both lyrical and “instrumental” talent.  

Posted by Alyssa Vincent on Mar 03, 2009 @ 12:00 am