Review by Dom Vigil
Fort Lean’s newest release, Quiet Day floats in with the dreamy opening track, “Cut To The Chase” and promises to keep listeners’ attention with ever-changing sounds throughout all ten tracks. Quiet Day has an overall fuzzy and poppy feeling, but it’s hard to pinpoint one specific strong aspect about every single song, because each song on this album has different defining features, making for a fun and captivating listen.
While “Cut To The Chase” is a little quiet and dreamy to begin with, the chorus comes in and the song seems to explode, giving listeners a hint of what’s in store for them: twists and turns throughout the entire album. The chorus of “Cut To The Chase” is big, warm and fuzzy, and as the song comes to an end, it fades surprisingly well into the fun and upbeat following track, “Just A Little Spirit.” Where “Cut To The Chase” shines in fuzzy electronic parts, “Just A Little Spirit” is strong in the lead guitar hook and catchy vocal melodies. The following song, “Don’t Make It A Habit” feels like a total ballad. This song is easy to sing along with and get lost in, with a big, swaying chorus and easy to remember lyrics.
“New Hobbies,” which comes in toward the middle of the album, is a high point of Quiet Day. All of the songs leading up to “New Hobbies” sound completely different in their own way (from fuzzy electronics to strong guitar work and big sing-along worthy choruses) and “New Hobbies,” which is energetic and fast paced, carried heavily by vocals and guitar, is no exception. It’s impossible to get bored of Quiet Day because of the way it is always changing. The only downside of “New Hobbies” is in it’s length. Coming in at less than two minutes long, I almost wish this great track was a little longer, but at the same time, the burst of energy is a nice change of pace before the mellow following song.
Quiet Day’s title track follows “New Hobbies” and couldn’t be more different if it tried. “Quiet Day” follows suit and sounds completely different than any other song on the album, which is a smart and interesting choice. Normally, I find that an album’s title track is the emotional high point of cumulation of the many strong aspects of an album, but “Quiet Day” breaks the mold and mellows things out, sounding completely different than any of the other songs before it. The song is, however, an emotional high point, and very easy to get lost in.
Rounding out the second half of the album are a handful of more unique and strong songs. “Might’ve Misheard” is catchy and a little surreal sounding when the chorus comes in. While the vocals throughout the majority of Quiet Day are one of the album’s consistent sounds, they take on a bit of an echoey and haunting quality in this song, setting it apart from the pack. “21” sounds similar to “Quiet Day” in the mellow tones and winds things down to a close before the final upbeat track, “Home For Dinner,” and by the time the album comes to a close, you’re bound to feel as if you’ve just been through a whirlwind of sound. The different sounds on Quiet Day keep the album captivating and interesting to listen to, promising to keep listeners’ attention until the very last note.
Rating: 4.5/5
Listen to “New Hobbies” or “Might’ve Misheard”
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