What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life? Listening to Party Album.
Having only been released a few weeks ago as I write this, Famous’ first studio album Party Album has already taken substantial stock in my mind after the first 30-min-57-sec-listen. It ticks all the boxes when it comes to lyrical depth, layered textures, and variety of character. Post-punk elements marry electronic experimentalism and hints of niche rock subgenres, and the influence of their emergence from The Windmill, Brixton music scene prevails acutely throughout the album, allowing Famous to be audibly categorised in a space alongside the likes of Legss and black midi.
Famous gave us a taste of the impending sound with the release of three songs approximately a month before the album came out, but the expectations built by the energy of “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life” and “God Hold You”, and an almost The Strokes-ian monophony present in “It Goes On Forever” were subverted with the remainder of their release.
Each song takes a new instrumental turn with the bookend tracks serving to represent, with great range, the variety encapsulated within the remainder of this album. “Boxing Day” draws listeners in with a classic rock sound, guitar-speaking, but it quickly reminds us that this is no traditional post-punk, rock album, briskly ringing in the synth which sharply contrasts heart-wrenching piano and strings ballad “Love Will Find A Way” to dramatically close out Party Album. “Warm Springs” is as stripped down as can be with mumbled raw vocals building up to a sudden end. The monotonous, droning tremolo melody throughout this track bears the ambiance of a reminiscent endless journey, fitting with the overarching theme of longing and uncertainty in the midst of a confusing, romantic, devastating, post-adolescent phase of life.
A sense of nostalgia is more than conveyed through the vocal workings of Jack Merrett, who assumes the role of storyteller. His voice is a blessing and a curse, rendering this album both incredibly raw and emotive but likely a difficult listen to an unaccustomed ear. His vocals emanate the agonisingly beautiful sound of Isaac Wood’s on Black Country, New Road’s Ants From Up There, but Merrett takes it a step further, not shying away from either extreme, at times growing to shout and at others hypnotically mumbling. He knows his audience, and it is evident that the musical crowd from which Famous emerged is well-distinguished and often recognisable by shared characteristics pertaining to vocals and rich instrumentation. “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?” bears a cynical lyricism, yet it could be considered one of the closest to a radio playable song Party Album reaches, even with the episodic transition, dipping a toe into the territory of rhapsodic form.
Party Album’s variation and artfulness sets it apart from their previous releases, while keeping old fans in tow through the reworking of “2004” from their 2019 EP England. The record was a long time coming with the duration from its conception to release spanning over a year, but it was well worth the wait and the listening time to anyone who is in need of an unconventional, unpredictable, unmatched series of songs. Party Album boasts the feel of an internal monologue with a yearning aftertaste, and the cover art makes it shine brighter than brat, so it may well be time to hand the reins over to Famous for autumn.