A few notes in, and things are both the same and different on
Fake in comparison to
Against Perfection. Maybe "Feed Me" is a little rougher in the guitar, a touch more rocked up, but
Piotr Fijalkowski's wounded and regretful vocals still have the same edge to them, while the song itself is just as lush as past tunes, digital delay careening all around the mix as a central riff builds ever more strongly. In sum, those who liked
Against Perfection won't find a problem with
Fake at all; both are wonderful, Echo and the Bunnymen-inspired post-shoegazing records. Leadoff single "Vendetta" especially fills its brief with a ringing main riff. Enough variety creeps in from song to song to ensure that
Fake isn't just a series of retreads, though admittedly the same general dynamic appears on both albums -- "Lettergo" has the same space and pace as "Be Still," "Kangaroo Court" fuses the crunch of "Homeboy" and the spiralling riffs of "Sistine Chapel Ceiling," and so forth. That fairly minor concern aside (it never stopped
the Ramones, for one),
Fake is worth finding, though never being released in America and having only minor chart status in the U.K. has kept it on the hard-to-find side of things.