By Karen Aney (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: February 29, 2012
Fanfarlo is an indie band based in London. It was started by two Swedish musicians – that’s right, two guys from the land that brought you Abba, Robyn, the Sedin twins and Ikea. Since its inception, the band has grown to include four new people and dropped one of the original creators. They each play multiple instruments that dot the spectrum from typical to awesome: bass, trumpet, keyboards, mandolin, glockenspiel and melodic.
Though you may not recognize the name, you probably know these guys. Well, you probably know them if you like trashy primetime television. Their songs have been featured on both Grey’s Anatomy and House. The band has been on David Letterman and Last Call with Carson Daly. Least importantly, their song “Atlas” was a high point on a soundtrack for some movie with some sort of vampire and werewolf situation.
Their newest album is called Rooms Filled with Light. For fans, it’s been a long time coming since their previous album came out back in 2009. Unfortunately, those same fans may be disappointed. This album represents a fairly large departure from their previous work. Though it falls on the same spectrum—rocky folky pop, for lack of a more precise term—and though it uses the same general instrumentation, the instruments are used in ways that are entirely new for the group. Mandolins that previously served as rhythm tools now lead into songs with a decidedly Asian flare, violins that once were used to enhance vocals now take a back stage to other instruments and seem to have greater use in creating eerie soundscapes.
A high point of the album—if you’re not too attached to superfluous lyrics—is “Everything Turns.” It opens with some strong piano chords—the type that could open a classic rock song—but progresses immediately into a lovely and melodious line that is then carried from piano to glockenspiel to mandolin and on. What lends true interest to the track is the piano. The strong chords repeat themselves throughout the track, underlying the piano influence like a heartbeat. However, the piano used isn’t some over-varnished showpiece. No, the piano that produced this sound wouldn’t look out of place if it came from one of those sketchy Febreeze commercials with the blindfolds. The instrument has seen better days, but the slightly out-of-tune edge to the sound and the wavering in the tone adds interest and depth to a song that would otherwise be overproduced and just a little bit too sweet.
That feel is carried throughout the other tracks: as soon as a song approaches one cliché too quickly, it’s derailed by an added element of interest. A great example of this is the track “Dig.” It seems pretty firmly rooted in ‘80s influences: the constant, shuffling beat could definitely be coming from a keytar. However, the sound is effectively broken up by some classically influenced piano riffs from that same piano and some violin riffs that come from the same vein. Spotted throughout the track are instances of the violin acting more like a fiddle – playing just slightly atonally, the sound adds some colour to what would otherwise be an overly trendy, overly ‘80s song.
Rooms Filled With Light isn’t anything ground-breaking. It’s not going to offend your friends if it’s playing when you start your car, but it’s also not going to change the face of music as we know it. The album demonstrates some interesting instrumentation and sound ideas, and it’s worth a listen for that. They’re not the band to sleep overnight on the streets for in hope of purchasing tickets – they’re the group you see in between headliners at a festival because you “kind of like them.” Or, they’re the group that you see at the Biltmore, because you have an ever-present feeling of dread that the Biltmore isn’t long for this world and you want to see just one more show in it before it gets turned into a Fat Burger. Speaking of which, they’re playing at the Biltmore in April. Enjoy.
