Fiction Plane - Everything Will Never Be Ok
by Dan Grote
Before we get down to the nitty-gritty: Yes, it is a bit disconcerting how
much Fiction Plane frontman Joe Sumner sounds like his dad (His dad is Sting
by the way).
However, put the genes aside and Fiction Plane’s debut, Everything Will
Never Be OK, is a surprisingly well-crafted piece of AmeriBritpop.
Everything, instrumentally and lyrically, is full of highs and lows, from
the hyperactive guitar bounce of “Listen to My Babe” to the quiet pondering
of “Do I feel love?” on “Sickness.” There are quite a few songs with hit
potential, including the title track, the emotive “Silence,” and the band’s
dedication to cynicism, “Hate,” featuring the chorus, “We’re cool, we’re
different, and we hate things… we hate people.” Sumner makes a few smart-ass
threats on the character-sketch track, including “Take a stand and we will
cut you down, be yourself and we’ll call you a liar.”
This same kind of quasi-mean-spirited lyricism is also present on
“Cigarette,” wherein Sumner tells a female smoker, “Taste yourself you smell
like death, to love you I must drink my meth.” There’s a bit of obvious
autobiography in “Cigarette” also, as Sumner tells the girl “Touch me cause
my daddy’s rich.”
The mellower, less-charged songs on Everything don’t always work quite as
well, such as the singer/songwriter-y “Fallow,” which contradicts the
argument of the title track with “There will be better days,” and the
contemplative “Real Real.” The latter track “Sickness,” however, makes up
for the weaker spots as it wavers between quiet introspection and emotional
tumult.
VERDICT: There’s a certain skepticism that comes with the progeny of rock
royalty venturing out into a studio of their own. However, there’s a lot of
talent going around in Fiction Plane, and the band’s mastery of songwriting
proves that Sting’s son can hold his own.
http://www.rocknworld.com/features/2003/fp.shtml
