Skidmore Fountain suffer from two basic flaws, a nearly total lack of original ideas and a fairly annoying lead singer. The latter, Randy Bergida, claims
David Bowie as a primary influence, but his tendency toward mushmouthed yarling sounds more like an unappealing cross between
Eddie Vedder and that guy from
Interpol. (Check the climax of "Blur" for a prime example of Bergida at his most irritating and tic-filled.) Musically, the band is going for an artsy take on the post-punk revival, but even their most interesting and unique musical element, Topu Lyo's electric five-string cello, rarely gets a chance to shine because it's most often used simply to approximate bass parts. It seems like it would be simpler just to get a bass player and let Lyo do his thing -- you can't swing a dead cat in their adopted home of Brooklyn without hitting three or four bass players -- but that kind of potentially interesting but poorly executed idea seems to be
Skidmore Fountain's musical trademark. Even on the handful of musically intriguing songs, like the spookily atmospheric "Lost and Lonely," any interesting sounds tend to be spoiled by Bergida's vocals. Overall,
Break is weak and doubly derivative, sounding like a bad imitation of current bands proffering a bad imitation of late-'70s post-punk: clap your hands, say never mind. ~ Stewart Mason