Review - Fake Problems - It's Great To Be Alive

Fake Problems - It's Great To Be Alive

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9 out of 10

My oh my, this is a strange one! Fake Problems' first album, How Far Our Bodies Go, whilst being a decent album was a fairly straightforward one too. For this one they've taken all the alt.country influences of the first album (Against Me!, Defiance Ohio, Ghost Mice etc) and expanded their range considerably, and made a much more varied album for it. Through the albums are hints of artists as diverse as Tom Waits, Dylan, The Specials, The Hold Steady, Murder by Death and the Rolling Stones, amongst a host of others.

It doesn't really sound like anyone else though. It sounds inimitably like Fake Problems. At its heart, It's Great to be Alive is a really good rock album, with plenty enough extra in the mix to make it stand out from the crowd. It flows really well too - Fake Problems may have come from a punk rock background, but they surely know a few things about pace and flow. There are plenty of faster songs, but they're not afraid to throw in the odd slow acoustic number too, and it makes for a much stronger album all round.

I'll say it straight- Fake Problems aren't as good as Against Me! at their best - although they are WAY better than the aberration that Against Me! have become. But the best way I can describe this album is that it's like Against Me's second album, .As the Eternal Cowboy compared to Reinventing Axl Rose. It's a much more complex and in depth album, and all the better for it. Fake Problems could doubtlessly have produced another How Far Our Bodies Go and sold lots of records, but they've had the courage to push their boundaries and that's to be commended. They've produced an album that spans genre, transcends them even. Great stuff.

Fake Problems - the genre spanners.

Listen: www.myspace.com/fakeproblems

Tracklist:
1. 1234
2. The Dream Team
3. You're a Serpent, You're a She-Snake
4. Don't Worry Baby
5. The Heaven and Hell Cotillion
6. Level With the Devil
7. Diamond Rings
8. Tabernacle Song
9. Alligator Assassinator
10. There Are Times
11. Too Cold to Hold
12. Heart BPM