Setting sail across the Atlantic we arrive and disembark upon a technicolor world of oddity, innocence and promise...
#7
Fair to Midland - Arrows and Anchors
I know, the moaning will give me a headache and I can already anticipate sloshing around in the piss as you intimate ever so discreetly that Fair to Midland aren’t quite metal, actually; but fuck me dead – they’re more metal than some of the bullshit that passes for it these days. That said; the music sounds resplendent and playful as ever, still retaining that hotheaded energy that seems to effortlessly glow from each and every child’s imagination. Confluences of folksy banjo, warm synthesizer and of course, generous servings of hulking distorted guitars mosey on over while the incredible, dizzying voice of Darroh Sudderth gives the record its wings as he takes flight; a man that can belt out crystalline vibrato in tandem with muddy, gruff snarls is worthy of much praise. Couple it with an unmatched creativity and unparalleled musicianship across an impossible diversity of instruments it deservedly garners quite a bit indeed.
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The Top 10 of 2011