Like their peers and fellow Canadians
Stars,
Faunts examine relationships and romance with their hearts open for the world to examine. But where
Stars rarely stray far from tweeville and an early-2000s indie aesthetic,
Faunts straddle many different musical genres, sometimes with great success and sometimes somewhat awkwardly. New wave of the 1980s, the pop electronica of
the Postal Service or any
Ben Gibbard project for that matter, the dreamy dance vibes of
Junior Boys, the dynamics explorations of bands like
Mogwai and
Explosions in the Sky, and the film and TV scores of Jan Hammer all crop up as influences on
Feel. Love. Thinking. Of. Thankfully, not every song features all of these influences, though there's a certain hit-or-miss factor at play when the brilliant, emotional pop of a song like "Input" resides on the same album as the cheesy 1980s-style car wreck of "Das Malefitz," which squanders a decent impersonation of
Michael Brook's infinite guitar to become an unintentionally goofy TV score knockoff. "I Think I'll Start a Fire" is another example of a song that might ape the 1980s perfectly but lacks a purpose on an album that's not meant as a joke. But on "Input," "So Far Away," and "Explain" things fall into place beautifully, particularly because one of the band's vocalists has a voice reminiscent of
a-ha's
Morten Harket. The pairing of that voice with the group's different genre examinations makes for interesting listening. It's hard not to get caught up in the percolating drive and electro-swoosh of the introspective "Input," with its skittering mid-bass sounds and ringing
Johnny Marr-like guitars. The two excellent closing tracks also feature fine chiming guitars: "So Far Away," with its pretty vocals and nods to
Mogwai and
Brook; and "Explain," which marries the musicality of
the Stockholm Monsters,
the Ocean Blue, and
Kitchens of Distinction. With high points so stellar, it's not that hard to look past the
Tangerine Dream-like excursions that don't pan out.
Feel. Love. Thinking. Of. is a decent enough album as a whole that sometimes falters but features fine moments of brilliance when the
Batke brothers filter out their cheesier influences. ~ Tim DiGravina