Fatherson - Normal Fears
Ultimately the album shows an expressive side to the band, one that brings delight and hopefully a new swarm of fans while keeping the old ones happy
Glasgow based trio mix it up for album number four with impressive results
Like most albums you’ll hear in 2002, Normal Fears is a record born of lockdowns and uncertainty. However this seems to have given Ross, Marc and Greg a new lease of life.
Normal Fears sees the band open up to new sounds, to new styles, to new adventures (in Hi-Fi) Whilst opening track End Of The World has a familiar tone to it, the second song Love For Air brings a new direction, it reminds me in parts of the band Prides, if Coldplay had released this song it would be a massive hit, and boy do the guys from Kilmarnock deserve exactly that.
The title track is a classic piece of Fatherson, however what follows is another switch in style, Everything has a modern soul feel to it, what might sound like a plaintive love song manages to actually sound like a song of hope. The vocals are stunning, and throughout the album you hear lead singer Ross challenging himself.
Honest To God is a beautiful piano led track about loss and pulling yourself together in times of heartache and having your head in a black cloud. Would love to hear this one live, just piano and vocal. This could well be my favourite song the band have ever released.
Dive and Better Friend both have really strong sing-a-long appeal, the latter also having a synth pop breakdown through it, these two will definitely be highlights when played on tour, especially the ‘breathe in, breathe out’ refrain.
The album closes with a run of songs that show the growing range of the band, Crying Wolf is a brilliant slice of power pop, powerful and poignant whist Wreckage In The Rubble draws the album to a close beautifully, an acoustic joy.
Ultimately the album shows an expressive side to the band, one that brings delight and hopefully a new swarm of fans while keeping the old ones happy. Four records in it is great to see them growing and not being afraid to share normal fears...
8/10
