In tonight’s episode I’m gonna take a quick look on (yet another) cool band from the windy city of Seattle – Fotoform. I came across them quite funnily, via ad on Facebook that the band presumably paid for themselves. Anyway, the description suggested a blend of Chameleons/Coctau Twins/4AD with some more contemporary shoegaze/dreampop influences in the vein of Pale Saints and the like. To be honest, I did not expect to hear anything extraordinary, but, since I’m very much into the genre anyway, well, why not give it a try? And boy, I’m happy that I did. As mentioned before, the band does not offer much originality in terms of style (which in itself ain’t an issue for me), but that said, the execution is close to perfect – and that’s what ultimately counts. They sound just like a band of their kind should: guitars blend in the echoey ether, the bass thumps distinctively, the drummer (which is not so often the case) actually knows his trade and offers something way more developed than your average-day drummer does. And on top of that, great female vocals! The only thing that I might consider a minor slip is that they’re a bit too prominent in the mix, but it’s just my personal preference. The record as a whole has moments that sound so similar to For Against, that if not for the indie/shoegaze additions, one might as well call it “December II”. Which is quite probably better than the first. Overall, a very good album, give it a listen.
