Band: We Are Only Fiction
Title: Out From The Cave
Label: N/A
Release Date: May 5, 2009
Review By: Scott L
Tracklisting:
01. Finally Me
02. Red Pill, Blue Pill
03. Taking Sides
04. Cities In Shadows
05. The New Script
06. The Lights
07. Sleepers
I’m not sure that I’ve ever met a person that didn’t like Reese’s Cups. I mean, what’s not to like? It’s chocolate… and peanut butter. Two great tastes, that taste great together. Along those same lines, it’s hard not to like a band that sounds a lot like a cross between two other bands that you really dig. Are you following my ragged trail of logic? All right, I’ll lay it out. In my most humble of opinions, if you took “The Moon Is Down” by Further Seems Forever and “Southern Weather” by The Almost, put them in a KitchenAid, pushed the eviscerate button for about 10 minutes… We Are Only Fiction is what would come out. I know you were thinking fruit smoothie, but trust me, this is better. And you don’t have to choke down those nasty boba things… because, what the heck are those things anyway?
We Are Only Fiction has the infectious groove of The Almost and the epic, genre-defining vibe of Further Seems Forever. I’d call their style something along the lines of emo-indie-pop. They would be right at home sharing a ticket with the likes of Esme, The Years Gone By, or The Rise Of Science.
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, We Are Only Fiction is a 3-piece that has put out a great release in their new EP, “Out From The Cave”. Seven songs, clocking in at about 23 minutes. Everything is well-crafted and nicely executed. Production is top notch thanks in no small part to Paul Leavitt (Circa Survive, The Dangerous Summer).
The songs are a balanced mix of melodic ballads and straight forward emotional rock. The vocals are consistently pleading but never abrasively so. Guitars, bass, drums… everything you’d expect for the style. Nothing over the top or over-worked.
Lyrics are fairly ambiguous as far as spiritual content goes. Creative and moving, to be sure, just nothing overtly redemptive in nature… although some songs come close in a metaphorical way. “Cities In Shadows” is a great case in point, “heads turned down / with everybody’s eyes fixed on the cave / and the shadows they create / it comes down to the one / sitting pretty with your hands untied / out of touch with a cold look in their eyes / we’re all just slaves in here”. The EP deals pretty strictly with the human dilemma and the choices we face along life’s paths.
Standout track was “The Lights” which is a great tune with a powerful bass-line thundering away throughout it. Not to mention it’s message is one of the best in that it brings some of the overall theme together toward closure. “am I here / do I really feel alive for the first time / and I’m dying to stay this way / my feet lead me out from the cave / eyes open and into the light”.
Overall: If you’re any kind of fan of pre-Jon Bunch, pre-Jason Gleason Further Seems Forever, this 7-track CD by We Are Only Fiction has your name written all over it. Is it a cookie-cutter replica? Not at all. But the sound is there and if you know it, you’ll love it.
www.myspace.com/weareonlyfiction