‘…they are pushing themselves like never before, and the end result is a very rewarding listen…’
Farseek are a band that have long existed as something more of a travelling colony of musicians than a straightforwards band. Originally starting off as a one-person project, the collective have evolved through various line-ups across different releases, with musician friends returning or departing with each listen.
Whilst ‘Who Can Start the Fires?’ is far from the band’s debut record, it does feel as though this is the start of a brand new era for the band. With a stable line-up for this record, and its notable presence as the only Farseek record on major streaming sites, this feels like the Georgia/North Carolina based act’s definitive opening statement for something much bigger.
Hitting play on this record, the main expectation were for more of the whimsical yet punchy folk-rock that Farseek is most well-known for. Instead, the listener is greeted with a shimmering disco type beat, with the brass and banjos of Farseek layered in between with a surprising effortlessness. It catches you completely off-guard in all of the correct ways, making it clear that Farseek are so much more than their folk-rock roots. ‘Crying‘ certainly does accelerate through passages of more familiar music, with exhilarating folk whimsy rising up before once again giving way to the glittering grooves.
That defiance of sonic expectations is what made the album’s lead single, ‘Salt‘, so engaging when it released back in February. With its gently swinging rhythms and effortlessly cool funk, it was a jarring first listen, but became a definite high point of the collective’s discography, and here on the record, the track becomes more enjoyable than ever, thanks to the record bringing together the band’s more experimental side with their traditional roots under one banner. Cameron Harrison’s vocal performance here is truly a standout, despite it being so understated; there’s a rich warmth to it that speaks to your very soul.
‘Declaration of Affection‘ continues those funky rhythms, but sees them stripped back, with the guitars sounding sharper than ever, and Harrison’s vocals moving away from their lower register, giving their delivery more of a sharpened edge. Driving and gritty guitars hit the track at the half-way point, in an unexpected tonal shift, before the track closes out on a gorgeous little rhythmic switch up in the percussive department.
Harrison’s vocal delivery is something worth returning to. Across the album, Farseek explore a wide variety of topics, from the importance of platonic relationships, to the pure love for a significant other, to the absolutely terrible state of politics within the western world. This could leave the album feeling lacking in cohesion, yet Harrison manages to assist greatly in tying it all together, sounding, in the best way possible, like your close friend who has promised not to get political on a night out, before becoming incredibly political in all of the right ways.
There’s a relatable, jovial charm to even the most gloomy of tracks on this record that makes Farseek feel less like a music production machine, and more so as a collective that the listener is as much a part of than any of the members. Community is a theme woven not just into the fabric of this record, but Farseek themselves, and that shines through incredibly brightly on tracks such as ‘Thanks for Saving My House From Burning Down‘.
Even when the band do strip things back to basics, the album remains a thoroughly engaging listen. ‘Infinitely Sunny Days‘ is a truly wonderful listening experience that seeks to find joy in the daunting inevitability of change, with the exclusion of the weather. It’s a brilliantly simplistic moment in the midst of the heavier topics that Farseek sometimes grapple with, and is guaranteed to have you dancing along, yearning for brighter days.
Interestingly, the band have elected to include the entirety of their ‘Intent‘ EP in the back half of this record. Thankfully, at a length of 12 songs, the record has enough fresh material here that the inclusion doesn’t make the album feel stagnant; all of these EP tracks are great in their own right, and perfectly tie into the wider themes of the record. However, it is slightly jarring to hit the final stretch of a record to be greeted with a record within a record; the contexts in which these tracks were originally listened to are suddenly merged with the context of this new listen.
As confusing at it is, it would be deeply amiss to accuse the band of being lazy; the inclusion feels as though it comes from a place of pride for what they have produced, and the artistic that these tracks have always belonged on some bigger body of work. Furthermore, for newcomers to the band, the entire point is moot, as they will be new tracks that bristle with folk-rock tinged existential dread, dealing with topics such as the right-wing consumption of the American political system in its entirety, and the loss of older generations to populist hate-speech purveyors and conspiracy-theorists.
This leads nicely back to the first point of this review: what Farseek have created here feels like the start of a very important era for the band. This is Farseek at their most solid, driven, and focused yet, their sound giving an indication that they are pushing themselves like never before, and the end result is a very rewarding listen.
So for newcomers and long-time listeners of Farseek, it’s time say hello to your new favourite folk-punk act.
RATING: 79/100 – Mostly Very Good
For Fans Of: Quiet Company, The Oh Hellos, Kerosene Heights, The Dear Hunter, Adjy
Physical copies of the album are available to purchase here.
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