The new Fat White Family album, Forgiveness Is Yours, is out today and it is FANTASTIC!
I went to the album launch gig at Rough Trade East last night. I go to a few of these things and they're usually quite low-key events - the band comes on around 8pm, plays for about 30-40 minutes at most and then people queue to get their album signed. They're mainly a way to support the band - entry is the price of buying the album, the live performance and getting it signed is a bonus. I like them because I can pop along there after work, see a band I like and still be home at a reasonable time.
Last night was more like a proper gig. First they had a support band - an absolutely bonkers avant-garde act called Secluded Bronte, three middle-aged men who make a lot of noise eg by playing a fork with a violin bow. They were absolutely brilliant. I recommend checking them out on YouTube, though the videos don't really convey the live experience.
Then FWF came on... I've not seen them before but they have a reputation for being great live performers. And they completely lived up to it. They are superb, and Lias is an awesome frontman. He came down off the stage a couple of times to mingle with the crowd - got a bit raucous the second time. Loved it.
They played a mix of old favourites and new stuff from the album. There's a track called John Lennon which was an instant hit for me. It's super funky and has great lyrics.
Work is another standout track.
Anyway, they played for nearly an hour and finished quite late, so I didn't get home until nearly 1am. On the plus side, that meant I was able to listen to the album on the way home last night when it became available to download at midnight. I've already listened to it through a few times. Yeah, I can confirm that John Lennon is a superb tune.
It's all good though. All their previous albums have had a few great tracks but tend to be a bit patchy overall. This one already feels like their most consistently excellent album yet.
Pretty certain this is going to be on my end-of-year favourites list.
Got tickets to see FWF again at the Troxy in June. That's going to be something else.
