Artist Of The Day: The Fashion

Sometimes, you stumble upon a great artist that was before your time, or that you found out had broken up before you'd heard of them. For me, today, that was The Fashion. Akin to a musical clusterfuck of Beastie Boys, LCD Soundsystem, Head Automatica, and The Rapture, the band had a creative blend of sounds going for them. Often centering around a quick drumbeat and vintage guitar tones that are naturally sweet to the ears like honey to the taste palate, I can certainly say that I wish the band was still around, so there would be at least a possible, glimmering hope that I could catch a live set, because there's so much life that The Fashion brings to their music.

The debut album, Rock Rock Kiss Kiss Combo, screams "teenage years" to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. While listening through, I definitely picked up on a vibe that the band creates that wants to make music and have fun, almost like Sex Bomb-Omb does in Scott Pilgrim. It's a beautiful thing, and songs like "Riots in Technicolor" and "Let's Go Dancing" really create a mood of immature curiosity. However, moving onto the sophomore album, self-titled album The Fashion, there's a real feeling of musical maturity, as though the band wanted to write some silly songs and get all of their wishy-washy, teenage material out of the way and really grow up, which they absolutely accomplished. Admittedly, it's still indie rock with an inclination to pop, but the music takes on a whole new feel, a new identity. Songs like "Alabaster" show a sensitivity that is nowhere to be found on the debut, but is an evolution for the band; meanwhile, "Dead Boys" and probably the most well known of their tracks, "Like Knives," adapt their faster material to show an edginess that was simply lacking in their older tracks.

If you're looking to get into their music, I'd personally recommend the sophomore self-titled, but some upbeat, happy-go-lucky indie pop on Rock Rock Kiss Kiss City will definitely satiate those looking to expand their tastes to suit that as well. Am I sad that I didn't hear about the band until they'd broken up? Of course, but that doesn't mean their music is lost forever. The musicians are (hopefully) still active with the musical scene, which just means that there will be more opportunities to hear from this creative lot.

The best place to look for their music is MySpace, or so I've found.