Tuesday 17 April 2018

33RPM CLUB Far - Water And Solutions 20th Anniversary

WATER AND SOLUTIONS
FIRES LEFT ABLAZE.

Welcome to the first of my long form deep dive album reviews that for the purpose of naming I am calling the 33RPM Club Series. For my first ever foray into this I am going to pick the bones of one of my top records of all time, the 1998 LP ‘Water and Solutions’ by the seminal, inimitable (fuck me people have tried) and legendary US emo pioneeers Far. Again FULL DISCLOSURE: Jonah Matranga (vox) from Far is an old friend and we’ve kept in touch via the socials and at shows for various years, so to there may be an element of vested interest here. However Far were one of my favourites long before any of this, so let’s fucking crack on.

Far are/were/are a post hardcore / emo / rock band from Sacramento formed in 1991 (I was 6, let’s not dwell on it) that released a steady output through the early 90s before their first major label (third) record ‘Tin Cans With Strings To You’ made some serious inroads into the fully blossoming early US emo scene in 1996. Not long after this the record I will be talking about today found its release through Epic records. The band, consists of Shaun Lopez on guitar, John Gutenberger on bass, Chris Robyn on tubs and the aforementioned Jonah Matranga providing the raw passion over the top with his crystal clear vocals breaking through. I first heard Far through ‘In the aisle, yelling” from the Tin Cans album but it wasn’t until Water and Solutions came along that the love affair commenced and I dug out the entire back catalogue and turned on instant fanboy mode. What follows is a love letter to one of my favourite albums by one of my favourite bands.

The record starts with what I’m sure is a backhanded homage to the Walrus of Love, a track geniusly named Bury White. Lo Fi chugging guitar and vocal akin to Smashing Pumpkins give way into a soaring section with Jonah reaching a gutteral growl in a chorus that hits like a dozen sledgehammers. One of my favourite first tracks of any album of any genre. Just flawless.

Really Here. Wow. this song. Another quiet first verse accompanied by a super crisp vocal caves in once Jonah starts getting into the chorus. A less punchy track than some of the others on the album but absolutely dripping with atmosphere and emotion. A great composition and in the flow of the album fits perfectly before the next song...

Water and Solutions. The title track of the record begins with a clanky angular guitar line into a gravelly vocal building to the chorus and one of Jonah’s best lines of the album “soon my doubles will pull off all of my stunts”. Back to the jarring guitar and a frantic semi-screamed bridge which sets the emotional tone for the song. A true genre defining classic and if there was a Far ‘best of’ this would be the intro track.

Mother Mary. The big single! If you speak to anyone about Far, this is probably the one song they’ll know. A song about facing mortality, it has a really punk feel to it and is one of the fastest songs on the record. Unbelievably catchy, the chorus will stick in your head. Like Elvis, like everyone, we all die, we all live on...

I Like It. A bass-driven song that spawned a thousand early emo bands to use months and seasons in their songs and band names. Reading the lyrics it seems like this is a song about making the most of a bad breakup, but I can’t confirm that as I’ve never heard Jonah talk about it. A really heavy song that has beautiful lyrics.

The System. A ‘traditional’ emo punk song played fast and hard. Lots of growling, deep vocals and a heavy screaming section towards the end form the basis of this great song. Probably my least favourite on the record, but I love every song so that’s no criticism.

Nestle.
“And he always wrote, and he always called, and he never lied, cause he never said anything at all”
My absolute favourite Far song from any record. Perfectly constructed, with the right mix of heavy and stripped back, Jonah’s vocal through the chorus is absolutely beautiful, he is able to showcase why many people consider him to have the best voice of the genre. Shaun’s guitar is meandering and chuggy in places, before falling back into a more intricate arrangement through the quiet parts. The drums carry a decent groove without being intrusive and play perfectly off the bass line. Listen to this song. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

In 2 Again is a haunting slow anxious anthem, Jonah worrying about people laughing behind his back. Slow plodding guitar and bass build to a spoken vocal metaphor about a broken boy and his broken horse, taken out the back and both put out of their misery. Shot. In 2 Again. Dark stuff.

Wear It So Well  is a kind of love song. Jonah’s vocal cracks and hisses and spits, as he builds the rest of the band into a devastating crescendo. Man Overboard is an angular song, all awkward time signatures and loud/quiet sections, repeated vocals create an uncomfortable atmosphere around the song, with Jonah repeating the song title over a heavy section until the whole song falls away to an almost whispered refrain for the ending.

Another Way Out is lo-fi and slow, a non remarkable song in the context of the whole album but still not bad. A song about love, and loss, and love again. The vocal doesn’t carry the power of the other songs on the album, but sets up perfectly for the album closer Waiting For Sunday. A stripped back song about the destruction that we are capable of and living in a world where you fear other people. The first glimpse into Jonah’s style that he would take after Far wrapped up, this sounds more like a New End Original song than a Far song. The guitar is clean, and builds with Jonah’s voice into the last verse which brings the album to a close perfectly.

Listening to this now it’s hard to believe that it’s 20 years old. It hasn’t aged a day. The bands that it has inspired, the styles that came out of it, there are many bands that owe their living to this record. With all the ‘pop-emo’ that came after I long for a world where people make these records again. Honest, authentic and dripping with raw emotion, a huge influence on my musical tastes that still holds true to this day. I’m not going to make a habit of ‘marking’ albums but this is a true 10/10.

Thx for reading folks. Gonna do a more recent album for my next 33RPM club review, give me some ideas. Craig.


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