’…a record that is no better but also no worse than their debut, and instead feels like a perfectly enjoyable side-step…’
The journey to the sophomore full-length of Fever 333 has been quite the rollercoaster. Following the sudden dissolution of letlive., vocalist Jason Aalon Butler commenced a brand new project under the moniker Fever 333, alongside Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta. Their 2018 debut EP ‘Made An America’ made for an explosive introduction to their politically charged rap-rock sound, and their 2019 follow-up LP ‘Strength in Numb333rs’ was a solid expansion upon those foundations.
Critical acclaim didn’t quite match what letlive. achieved, but the general consensus was a positive one for Fever 333’s material. A steady stream of singles followed in 2020, before grinding to a halt in 2021. Things became stranger still in 2022, when the release of two singles was capped off with the announcement of Harrison and Improta’s departure, with differences in vision and creativity cited.
All of this is relevant when it comes to discussing ‘Darker White’, as this album is not simply a mere second record in the Fever 333 discography, but essentially a complete reset for the band. With a line-up now consisting of Butler, guitarist Brandon David, bassist April Kae, and drummer Thomas Pridgen, ‘Darker White’ seeks to not only deliver a vital message surrounding the presence of people of colour in modern pop and alternative cultures, but reestablish who Fever 333 even are.
The result is a record that is no better but also no worse than their debut, and instead feels like a perfectly enjoyable side-step; Fever 333’s sound is now more polished and arena ready than ever before, yet may well have lost some of it’s compelling rawness and power in the process. Thunderous metal breakdowns are swapped out for bombastic pop-tinged choruses, whilst the rapped vocals feel less like a novel addition and instead feel far more integral to the music.
Butler’s lyricism is one factor that definitely can be considered an improvement from the band’s debut record. Alongside the scathing political commentary that forms part of Fever 333’s core identity, ‘Darker White’ sees Butler ruminating on the position of people of colour in alternative subcultures, the erasure that they have experienced in the canon of these scenes, and Butler’s own experiences as a black man invested in scenes that have become predominantly white spaces.
Bombastic, cinematic opening cut ‘NEW WEST ORDER’ is a celebration of Fever 333’s rise to fame, commemorating black history in rock and how Butler broke through the racial glass ceiling (‘I was a young boy looking for the man to be/But in this rock shit, ain’t nobody look like me’). ‘BULL & THE BULLET’ is a brilliant aggression-charged number that acts as a commentary of the appropriation, sanitisation, and extermination of black culture and narratives by a system upheld by white American privilege (‘They profit off blacks dying, headlines/White washed, baptized from the plantation to incarceration’). At the album’s most explicitly political, ‘NO HOSTAGES’ is an unsettling reminder of the consequences of the white American police state, and the devaluation and destruction of black lives and communities (‘You might be at home when they kill you/You might be alone when they kill you/Pulling out your wallet tryna grab your ID/Or on the ground saying, “Officer, I can’t breathe”’).
Despite this, and the killer musicianship on tracks such as ‘$WING’, ‘NEW WEST ORDER’, and ‘PIN DROP’, too often does ‘Darker White’ surprisingly feel like Fever 333 holding back. The combination of the band’s rock core and their newer overt RnB influence is sometimes electrifying, but for much of the album, Fever 333 seem reluctant to push their sonic boundaries beyond catchy political anthems, despite the potent lyricism. Bands such as Ho99o9, House Of Protection, and Filth have already melded rap-based music with alternative sounds in inventive, fresh ways; Fever 333 sound behind the times.
The choruses are catchy and the polish is befitting that of a band of Fever 333’s size, but the gripping rawness of their debut has been sanded down to shiny sounds containing mass appeal. Butler is a generational talent, accompanied by three other talented musicians; the potential for a groundbreaking, era-defining record is present, but still untapped. Fever 333 need to be willing to get weird if they’re truly starting a revolution, and that simply hasn’t happened.
So whilst ‘Darker White’ does not offer the sense of improvement one would hope for with a sophomore record, it does make for a great foundation for Fever 333 2.0 to build from; it truly feels like a second debut record. The capacity for brilliance still remains, and the belief that there is a fever coming is still strong; if this line-up can hold it together and push their newfound boundaries, then there might truly be a revolution.
RATING: 74/100 – Good
For Fans Of: Linkin Park, House Of Protection, Ocean Grove, WARGASM, Deijuvhs
Physical copies are available to purchase here.
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