Artist: FM Static
Album: Dear Diary
Label: Tooth & Nail
Release Date: 4/7/2009
Reviewer: Tyler Hess
Tracklisting:
1. Boy Moves To A New Town With Optimistic Outlook
2. The Unavoidable Battle Of Feeling On The Outside
3. Boy Meets Girl (And Visa Versa)
4. Sometimes You Can Forget Who You Are
5. Man Whatcha Doin’?
6. The Voyager Of Beliefs
7. Her Father’s Song
8. Take Me As I Am
9. Dear God
10. The Shindig (Off To College)
If you wanted something different, you’re really barking up the wrong tree. FM Static, the pop-punk side project of Thousand Foot Krutch vocalist Trevor McNevan and drummer Steve Augustine, has come up with a third installment for us, mixing a little bit of the first and a little bit less of the second and mixed in a conceptualization, leaving with a fun album for (almost) summer time.
“Dear Diary” is a pretty simple storyline (one without a plot, really), as it contains more of a collection of moments in a boy’s life, from moving to a new town, to dealing with pretty girls and reflections on faith, God and meaning in life. It may be a bit simplistic and contain some pretty obvious preachiness, but it would be hard not to admit that just about everyone can relate to these songs on some level. It may wear a thin over time, but for now I can listen to this album over and over and find something different to latch onto. The songs WILL stick in your head. Watch out for that. I don’t think there is an antidote. It is like the common cold, you’ll get it out of your system eventually and Vitamin C might help, but you really just have to wait it out. Still, my favorite has to be “The Voyage of Beliefs”, which is both a fun song musically and a positive direction in matters of inspiring the youth of today to make a decision to basically get over themselves and the world to get up and live by faith.
Summary: The consensus on this project is that FM Static can be a fun, but a bit cheesy, pop-punk band that can go either pretty well or it can be filled with an overdose of pop culture references. They definitely keep up with the fun on this one and tone down the name drops (but not completely), to leave us with a worthwhile story that gives today’s generation some things to think about.
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