A semisweet reduction of '90s alt-rock, feedback-kissed staccato post-punk, and shimmery, deceptively simple power pop, the debut album from
FAWN feels like the sum of its parts. The Detroit-based quartet, which features members of
Thunderbirds Are Now!,
the Von Bondies,
Those Transatlantics, and
Child Bite, have distilled the essence of their previous endeavors into a manhole steam-driven pop machine that successfully calibrates the bottom-heavy spank of the Motor City with the crafty, melodious heart-tug of early-aughties indie rock. Fueled by the evenhanded vocals of Alicia Gbur and Christian Doble,
Coastlines manages to feel both nostalgic and forward-thinking, and at ten tracks, the album's heady, slow-build blend of
the New Pornographers,
the Pixies,
Spoon, and
the Joy Formidable doles out its riches in small bills, resulting in an energized, streamlined set that feels closer to a live show than it does a fussed-over studio session. With their workmanlike precision and natural ebbs and flows, standout cuts like the steady, driving opener "All the Lights," the shimmery "Pixels," and the blistering "Cobra on the Beach" back this notion up, while more mercurial numbers such as "No Wave," "It's Never Over," and "The Forest," while cut with a similar intensity, bring new and exciting textures to the table.
Coastlines burns fast and bright, and while it may lean hard on its influences, it never feels outright retro. In a sea of harmony-laden, heart-on-its-sleeve indie pop outfits,
FAWN stand tall through sheer tenacity, injecting attitude and some much needed grit into the wound, while maintaining the genre's rich melodic core. ~ James Christopher Monger