Thursday , March 28 2024

CD Review: Finest Dearest – Pacemaker EP

Formed in 2004, this San Francisco indie band has a bright future ahead. Finest Dearest is led by Carly on vocals, Christine and Josh on guitar, Cheryl on keys, Mica on cello and Steve on drums. If you read ‘cello’ then you might have had the same reaction as I did. Instruments beyond the mandatory guitars and drums aren’t uncommon – Yellowcard has a violin and Linkin Park has its own turntable – for a rock band, but certainly are strange to have.

The first bars of “Sleep Until The Weekend” sound as if the song is an old late 80s/early 90s pop rock song (almost anything by Dan Fogelberg). But the song turns into a grunge and punk hybrid reminiscent of a softer PJ Harvey or Veruca Salt. “Idaho” hints at some influence by Cat Power with the always-present guitar, but never passive vocals. “Pacemaker” (before the hidden track) is the band’s attempt at goth with Carly’s vocals sounding eerily similar to Anita Auglend, the former lead singer of Sins Of Thy Beloved. The hidden track is a remix of “Slow Going” that sounds more gothic with its more dominant electronic sound. Finest Dearest never approaches the contrastively harsher rhythms and rifts of PJ Harvey and Sleater-Kinney, but will inevitably be compared to them. FD, though, makes a case that any comparison wouldn’t be unwarranted.

“Sleep Until The Weekend” and “Idaho” can be downloaded at the band’s website. The EP can be bought there as well.

Official website: www.finestdearest.com

Myspace page: Finest Dearest

About Tan The Man

Tan The Man writes mostly about film and music. He has previously covered events like Noise Pop, Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, South By Southwest, TBD Festival, and Wizard World Comic Con.

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