EP REVIEW: Premonitions – Fortune Teller
Bringing the rough and tough pop-punk energy of the Californian coast to the quiet scenes of the Rondda Valleys, up and coming Welsh act FORTUNE TELLER are ready to rock and ready to roll with their debut EP Premonitions.
Starting off with the anthemically aligned Starting Again, it is stereotypical to state but the influence is obvious. Stemming from the sounds of their own individual heydays – the times of skate parks being rammed with outcasted youth, paying out pocket money for the metal through the skin and the needles giving art, and other activities to look back fondly on – it holds more of a sound from then than now. Alternative music is seeing a renovation of the pop-punk corner of the room, one that has collected a mixed response of agreements and disappointments. With going back to the basics of microphones, guitars, and a simple yet danceable drum beat, there is no need for any more computer-created assistance for the sound FORTUNE TELLER are after. The naturally rebellious ring in vocalist Mason Meacham is music to the ears alone, and with the help of his bandmates it comes together to form a fully grown and honed style.
Following on is their first single Drop The Act, a track that can simply be described with three words: the right stuff. The formula is complete. The riffs are grooving, the vocals hit every mark, and the overall composition is one that can be bounced along to. It’s almost law for pop-punk acts to have that one song that no matter where or when it’s on, there is a circle opening up and a mosh set to happen. So early in their career, it looks like FORTUNE TELLER have found that in Drop The Act. Such a sonically satisfying single, it works as the perfect ‘hello’ and will work for the rest of their time together as their live show ‘goodbye’. An act must always close as strong as they open their shows. Let Drop The Act be that closer.
The EP’s concluding track Jump Ship is the longest track on the release, and with a slower calmer intro, it can deceive the listener into thinking the end will be a gentle one. However, that’s not how pop-punk works and that’s not how FORTUNE TELLER are working the genre. Working along similar lines to previous tracks, with similar chords being played and even similar rhythms in vocals, it feels safe at this point. Familiarity is safe, and is again a stereotype of pop-punk from the turn of the millennium. Every song has the same bone structure but is dressed up with different skins; they appear different to the naked eye and ear, but cut them and they will all bleed the same. Ending the EP the way it began feels safe and secure, like the journey of a lifetime has wound down to its natural end. But that doesn’t mean the ride wasn’t worth the time.
Pop-punk is a divisive genre; back in the days of the X generation and here and now in the prime of the Z’ers, bands have always been accused of recycling their sound, or changing beyond recognition. They can either work nonstop on being new and inventive and creative, or they stick to what they know and love and practice beyond perfection; both methods are valid. Both ways to stay fresh in the scene can be loved or loathed, and the next step is up to the FORTUNE TELLER lads now. Premonitions is the best start to the rest of their career they could hope for, but even after an EP, what will happen next? Will there be a sophomore slump, or the album that changes the course of pop-punk altogether? Let the tellers tell the world themselves when they’re ready.
Rating: 7/10
Premonitions is out now via self-release.
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