Providing a down to earth, stylized and heavily Californian take on the choppy afro-rhythms and chiming guitars recently made popular by Vampire Weekend and Abe Vigoda, most listeners would be surprised to discover that rather than polo shirt-wearing upper class rich kids, Fair Ohs are simply three self funded “blokes” from London, England. On Everything is Dancing, the songs sparkle with bite, passion and energy, creating a musical landscape suited for sun-drenched beaches and tropical surf. On opener ‘Baldessari’, the ever-changing drums and anchored bass allow rambunctious vocal melodies to soar throughout, a glorious call and response chant sure to bring a smile to the listener’s face.
Knowing their strengths, the group is quick to repeat this minimal and punchy formula, with ‘Eden Rock’, ‘Colours’ and ‘Summer Lake’ all providing similarly engrossing post-punk pleasure. On ‘Yah’, guitarist Eddy Frankel channels Pete Townshend, laying down sharp power chords in an instrumental that wouldn’t sound out of place on Tommy. Simply put, the joy of this record isn’t its originality or innovation, but rather its intention. This is a group that sounds in love with music and maintains their goal of providing pure summer joy. It may sound all terribly naïve and pretentious but so what? At least I didn’t use the word ‘uplifting’.
(4/5).
Fair Ohs: Everything is Dancing
