Morning Fatty – Resistance
Track Listing:
1.) Prologue
2.) Dreams
3.) Police Navidad
4.) Oblivion
5.) Good Buds
6.) Resistance
7.) Suture
8.) Waiting
9.) Never Coming Home
10.) Synergy
11.) Laloquezia
12.) The Reason
13.) Live On
The Pier Album Rating:
Release Date: August 29, 2014
Official Website: Morning Fatty Website
Group Background:
Initially forming as a twelve-piece ska band in 2004, Florida rockers Morning Fatty have since downsized to a four-man band who have quietly released an EP, 2011’s Facemelt, and their debut album, Out of the Hat, in 2012.
Led by vocalist Andrew White, Morning Fatty’s Miller Joyner (guitar), John Pop (bass) and Jared McEachran (drums) have toured extensively, entertaining audiences across the country and playing alongside top reggae bands such as 311, Ballyhoo! and Slightly Stoopid. Now with Resistance, the band has assembled their blend of reggae, funk and rock into a thirteen-track album that they hope will introduce them to a new and larger fan base.
Album Review:
Resistance is an assembly of genres, scattered without much direction. Although the band is instrumentally at the top of their game, they are lacking lyrically. This is evident in Resistance’s slow start, as it fails to grab attention with the nearly inaudible “Prologue,” which starts as a dark mechanical chant and suddenly becomes an instrumental reggae beat.
The album continues on a lull through the cleverly titled, but poorly written “Police Navidad,” which features a great instrumental, but made me question if the band understood the translation of the word “navidad.”
Despite the slow start, Resistance becomes a more enjoyable album as the tone shifts from cliché reggae to a more upbeat funk/ska sound. The band begins to re-gain their footing with the alt-rock jam, “Good Buds” and the album’s lone instrumental track, “Resistance.” Songs such as “Synergy” and the Green Day-esque mosh pit starter “Laloquezia” are bright spots and my personal favorites on this album, which highlight Andrew White’s potential as a front-man and further emphasize the band’s instrumental strengths.
Tracks five through eleven prove to be the eye of the storm, as the album comes to a close on a sour note with “The Reason” and “Live On,” two songs which I felt could have been left off the album, as the latter sounds like a single vocal take accompanied by a novice piano player.
Produced by Less Than Jake bassist Roger Lima at Sonic Ranch, Resistance achieves a good collection of sounds, as fans of multiple genres will take a liking to at least a couple songs throughout the album. The influence of Folk, Jazz and Rock is obvious throughout the album, but reggae dubs, heavy guitar riffs and elements of funk are most prominent, and Andrew White’s voice accompanies each of these sounds well. However, his harmonies are not always harmonious and his lyrics sometimes fall short of being grammatically correct. Perhaps the recording process was a bit rushed, as the band described on their album’s Kickstarter page, “[Roger] is taking time out of his busy schedule in order to make this happen. We must both balance our busy schedules to find enough time to record without feeling rushed.”
Despite the ebbs and flows of Resistance, I believe the band is close to tying up their loose ends and putting out a really good album in the near future. The presence of songs such as “Synergy,” “Laloquezia” and “Never Coming Home” on this album proves that Morning Fatty has a lot of potential, and I believe they’re capable of keeping up with some of reggae’s top bands, all they’re lacking is a little polish and direction.
Written & Reviewed By: Andrew Aroche
[Editors Note: All reviews are reflective of the album in it’s entirety, from start to finish. These reviews are the honest opinion of each writer/reviewer expressing their feedback as a genuine fan of the music. Each star rating reflects their review of the album, NOT the band. Music is subjective. Regardless of the review or star rating, we encourage you to listen to the music yourself & form your own opinion. Spread the awareness of all music in its art & contribution]
