If all album titles summarised their musical content as succinctly as Everything Everything’s latest show of force, it’s safe to say music journalists worldwide would be out of a job.
A Fever Dream‘s concise nature is perfectly suited to the lazy age of social media – despite its contents being a forceful rebellion against everything the concept stands for. A heated frenzy smattered with whimsical synths, the record’s title does the talking. What could be better suited to Generation Z’s eight-second attention span and 140-character limit than an album delivering what it says on the tin?
The fourth full-length studio album from the Manchester-based quartet, A Fever Dream feels like a post-apocalyptic ‘I told you so’. Sticking two fingers up at the squeaky-clean pop conventions smothering our charts, Jonathan Higgs and co. have created a gloriously jagged monster. Continuing a tale that boldly depicts the populist failings of the human race, the band’s latest musings feel far more incisive than its often haphazard predecessors. Forget cloaked jibes, this time around EE have delivered a jab directly to the political jugular.
A narrative that began with 2010’s debut, Man Alive, the record made a name for itself calling out media manipulation and underlining mankind’s self-destructive tendencies. It was an undeniably poignant record. Given the current US political backdrop, the timing of this latest release seems darkly ironic, highlighting just how little our attitudes have changed over the course of nearly a decade.
Nowhere is it clearer than on “Big Game”, a track whose cross hairs are surely aimed at Trump and Trump alone. ‘God for a clown and a clown for a pig. Ever so small but you think you’re as big,’ begins the character assassination. Calls of ‘Someone’s going to tell you no you can’t and I think you might explode’ are intertwined with humorous threats of ‘Someone’s going to pull your big trousers down’. All too soon the track’s dainty falsetto and lively chords are superseded by a ferocious, riff-heavy assault. Blindsided doesn’t quite cut it. Accompanied by a guitar solo Brian May would be proud of, the forceful and triumphant turn transforms a witty, yet rather mediocre track, into what can only be described as a roaring and defiant rock-opera.
This altogether heavier sound travels as far as “Run The Numbers”. Featuring a surging, bass-heavy chorus, this novel album addition leaves you feeling as though someone locked alt-J and Royal Blood in a room and ordered them to work through their differences. Calls of ‘I’ve been dying all my life’ meld with the band’s signature glitchy soundscapes on “Knight Of The Long Knives”, a powerful opener that’s set to leave you in a decidedly anxious sweat. Can that even be described as a pleasant experience? Who cares? It’s memorable.
And although this uneasiness continues onto “Good Shot Good Shoulder” – albeit to a far lesser extent – it’s a soundscape that errs on the side of filler material. Alongside the hazy tones of “Put Me Together”, the cut continues on without any clear direction, making for a pleasant, yet somewhat forgettable addition to the line-up. As title track’s go, “A Fever Dream” avoids lending itself to the same murky fate. Just. It’s a cut that remains a little nondescript, lurching from lullaby to synth-charged pop banger in thirty-seconds flat – something you could equally say makes Everything Everything the scatty, non-conformist alt band we’ve grown to know and love.
Retaining a raw and undeniably emotional edge, A Fever Dream is undoubtedly the band’s slickest effort to-date. Lurching, short-circuited but still undeniably slick. What began life as a selection of 10-minute-plus creations are now virtually unrecognisable. Mercilessly honed to within inches of their lives, the 11 art-pop tracks that sit before us depict a band on the peripheries of mainstream success. Pairing infectious riffs with hook-heavy choruses, it’s far too easy to accuse these chaps of selling out. Sure, it feels as though they are toying with the idea at times, but it’s clear the band never fully take the plunge. Whether you deem that a pro or a con, what’s certain is that Everything Everything’s A Fever Dream is a strong and progressive musical assault.
