World Leader Pretend - Fit for Faded

All Music Guide

Without reading this quartet's bio, it would be impossible to imagine it's based in the jazz/blues/RB/zydeco hotbed of New Orleans. On its impressive first album, the band sounds like a mix of Coldplay, Travis, and not surprisingly, R.E.M., from whose song the group's name is derived. Theirs is intelligent, oblique, and thought-provoking pop. It's haunting and understated, but infused with sweeping crescendos led by Keith Ferguson's melancholy and vulnerable vocals. In fact, if they were from England, it's reasonable to expect that with a debut this accomplished, they would be hailed as the flavor of the week. But they are better than a typical flash in the pan. Ferguson's diffuse melodies are poignant and ultimately memorable, and the band unwinds these edgy pieces languorously but with a taut, incisive clarity. The title track is most reminiscent of R.E.M., as Ferguson moans like Michael Stipe, accompanied by lonely electric piano and disjointed drums. Individual solos are infrequent... and enhance the songs, which explore challenging areas while basically remaining "pop." But this is not music that boasts catchy choruses and hum-along hooks. Like R.E.M. albums, it takes time and repeated spins to grow on the listener. Yet after absorbing their sound, the unusual songs exude a unique vibe. The horns that suddenly and unexpectedly punctuate the closing track, "Theme," bring some -- in fact the disc's only -- New Orleans reference to this moody and stirring debut. Fit for Faded is a promising start for a sharp, precocious band that twists music in fascinating, stimulating directions. - Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide Read more Less