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Adem, "Homesongs"
Domino
This is the absolutely flooring debut album of bassist/guitarist AdemIlhan's own four-piece band, and of a truly unique and powerful voiceall his own. Not that he's thought of as the quiet one or anything, butlive and on record with Fridge, Adem rarely ever lets this other beinginside of him be heard. His is a mannered but driven style of folkrock, prone to lush and full passages with varied instrumentation. Itis the vocals that make this album's beauty, however, with clear andimpassioned melodies from Adem and near perfect harmonies that embodythe words and themes being conveyed. From the first track, where theline "Let this be a moment that you won't forget" is stated severaltimes, I was hooked, with lyrics that pull everything around towardsthem and rhythms that crawl, sway, or jangle their way through life. Avariety of subjects are covered in what can only be catharsis, from theargument that remains long after the voices are quiet to the end of arelationship or those tender moments that will always remain. The heartreaches out to these characters, as they continue to stumble andmisdirect their ways around. "You tried to help yourself, but you gotit wrong" is followed by the extended "Everybody needs some helpsometimes" on "These Are Your Friends," the album's first single, andit could easily become the new "Lean On Me" of independent rock, as thesong builds and builds to a full-voiced near stomp at the end. Thereare little touches that show a clear grasp of theatrics withoutmelodrama or pretense, like the organ at the beginning of "EverythingYou Need," which leads in and disappears but has a lasting impression.The quirk of not often heard instruments, the uplifting as well as thecrushed, and the lyrics of a true poet make this a record I will notsoon forget. It also serves as a reminder to me of what anextraordinary group of talents Fridge is, and it makes me long for anew release from them soon. -
This is the absolutely flooring debut album of bassist/guitarist AdemIlhan's own four-piece band, and of a truly unique and powerful voiceall his own. Not that he's thought of as the quiet one or anything, butlive and on record with Fridge, Adem rarely ever lets this other beinginside of him be heard. His is a mannered but driven style of folkrock, prone to lush and full passages with varied instrumentation. Itis the vocals that make this album's beauty, however, with clear andimpassioned melodies from Adem and near perfect harmonies that embodythe words and themes being conveyed. From the first track, where theline "Let this be a moment that you won't forget" is stated severaltimes, I was hooked, with lyrics that pull everything around towardsthem and rhythms that crawl, sway, or jangle their way through life. Avariety of subjects are covered in what can only be catharsis, from theargument that remains long after the voices are quiet to the end of arelationship or those tender moments that will always remain. The heartreaches out to these characters, as they continue to stumble andmisdirect their ways around. "You tried to help yourself, but you gotit wrong" is followed by the extended "Everybody needs some helpsometimes" on "These Are Your Friends," the album's first single, andit could easily become the new "Lean On Me" of independent rock, as thesong builds and builds to a full-voiced near stomp at the end. Thereare little touches that show a clear grasp of theatrics withoutmelodrama or pretense, like the organ at the beginning of "EverythingYou Need," which leads in and disappears but has a lasting impression.The quirk of not often heard instruments, the uplifting as well as thecrushed, and the lyrics of a true poet make this a record I will notsoon forget. It also serves as a reminder to me of what anextraordinary group of talents Fridge is, and it makes me long for anew release from them soon. -
