General Fiasco - Unfaithfully Yours (Album Review)
Friday, 27 July 2012
Written by Daniel Lynch
Northern Ireland’s latest offering to the wider UK music scene, General Fiasco have so far failed to live up to their promised potential. Debut album ‘Buildings’ could be forgiven for being a bit hit and miss as the then trio embarked on their first effort to write a full length album. ‘Unfaithfully Yours’ suffers from similar restraints as ‘Gold Chains’, ‘Bad Habits’ and ‘The Age You Start Losing Friends’, laden with infectious hooks and catchy vocals are somewhat let down by ‘Brother Is’ and ‘The Bottom’ which don’t really seem to keep pace with other tracks.
The overriding sound is still very pop-punk a la Pigeon Detectives and The Enemy; while the latter has had more enduring success, the former has fizzled out of the public eye despite a promising start. General Fiasco are in danger of falling into the second category if they don’t convert the potential into a more solid and consistent album next time round. However, the strength of ‘Waves’ and the heavier ‘Bad Habits’ which reveals the band’s rock roots, keep fans and critics at bay and reassures all of the undoubted talent of Enda Strathern (guitars/backing vocals) and Owen Strathern (bass/lead vocals) combined with the thunderous drumming talent of Stephen Leacock and recent addition Stuart Bell (guitars, keyboards) from disbanded Belfast heavyweights, Panama Kings.
‘This Is Living’, a piano led ballad, reveals a softer side to Strathern’s maturing writing ability but ultimately detracts from the pace set by other songs and fails to stand out despite being the song most detached from the pop-punk sound. On their game, General Fiasco are a force to be reckoned with; an army of teenage fans can attest to this while the stronger songs on 'Unfaithfully Yours' are evidence of real talent and good song writing. However, they are not yet ‘great’ songs and at least until their next effort, General Fiasco will be seen as a band relying on the strength of singles rather than albums. The potential and talent is there, albums one and two have revealed as much. One can only hope it’ll be third time lucky for General Fiasco.
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The overriding sound is still very pop-punk a la Pigeon Detectives and The Enemy; while the latter has had more enduring success, the former has fizzled out of the public eye despite a promising start. General Fiasco are in danger of falling into the second category if they don’t convert the potential into a more solid and consistent album next time round. However, the strength of ‘Waves’ and the heavier ‘Bad Habits’ which reveals the band’s rock roots, keep fans and critics at bay and reassures all of the undoubted talent of Enda Strathern (guitars/backing vocals) and Owen Strathern (bass/lead vocals) combined with the thunderous drumming talent of Stephen Leacock and recent addition Stuart Bell (guitars, keyboards) from disbanded Belfast heavyweights, Panama Kings.
