Mar 03, 2003
CMJ New Music Report Issue: 803
Brad Maybe
FICTION PLANE: Everything Will Never Be OK
Lyrically exploring tales of neglect, wasted potential, mistrust, misanthropy and good old-fashioned hate, Everything Will Never Be OK is not a happy record. However, all the negative energy here flows with a strong undercurrent of pop sensibilities. Tracks like “Hate,” a catchy U2-esque celebration of ill will, and “Cigarette,” a fast-paced diatribe that’s as tenderly confessional as it is scornful, reflect some of singer/guitarist Joe Sumner’s experiences, both as a fledging musician and as the son of living legend Sting. Sumner found much inspiration in Nirvana at a young age and, although he hasn’t been able to capture his angst quite as subversively as Cobain could, he’s definitely operating on the same plane. The title track is the ultimate cynic’s anthem — you’d be hard-pressed to find a gloomier song that’s so easy to sing along to. Produced by David Kahne (Sublime, Tony Bennett), Everything Will Never Be OK took Fiction Plane three years to write and complete; it oozes with so much potential for future releases, we can only hope it doesn’t take them three years to follow it up.
