Fang: Swim Up Stream

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * *)


This latest from the local indie torch-carriers is the first since they expanded their line-up from a spare three-piece to a quartet of multiple guitars, keyboards and violin. But the growth in staff hasn't solved Fang's drawbacks - patchy songwriting and frail vocals adding up to something of a musical personality bypass.

Impressive string-assisted semi-epics bookend the 13 tracks. But much of it falls back on a grab-bag of styles, ranging from the 80s funkpop of obvious single Yellow, to the outback murder tale of Snowtown to the psychedelic heights of Crystal Clear with many an organ'n'guitar-powered plod between.

It's not particularly cohesive but it can be amusing, such as on Something Good, when they lift a bit of Soft Cell's Tainted Love for its bridge, or the truly awful lyrics of You Are So Different near the end.

The urges towards gothic country twang on a couple of tracks suggest dark hidden depths to it all. But it's hard not to feel Swim Up Stream just splashes around, safe in the shallows.


Label: Arch Hill