Glasgow based For Abel whose debut album Greater Inventions caused a bit of a ruckus among critics who couldn't resist comparing their mix of intense moody rock to a whole host of indie bands from Joy Division to the Wedding Present to The Smiths to Shed Seven to the Cure AND Robert Armstrong's vocal style to that of Neil Hannon or Morrissey or Martin Rossiter. There seemed to be a lot of dissection going on. After all the parsing of sounds, one thing is clear, the music grabs you by the bollucks and the heart. You can hear influences in most talented artists. It is Neil Hannon and Ian Curtis, after all, who have always sounded to me like they were doing a bit of Jim Morrison (just listen to the low lulling cadence). In the end, iconic music always stands on the shoulders of those who came before and For Abel brings their own unique flavor to their post punk sounds that do hover in that lovely 90's Brit fog. For Abel's strident guitar playing, vocal presence (at the forefront), romantically somber and punchy tone does (thankfully) contain the musical DNA of those aforementioned bands and I hear a decidedly Mod thing happening in the shadows as well. In the end Greater Inventions feels like a lovely embrace from a long lost friend.
For Abel is letting us all get a sneak peak at their second LP Wildebeest by sharing two songs which will be the single- A side: The 17th Failed Hope Song and the B side: House of Ghosts. The 17th Failed Hope Song feels like a full sprint of a rock song like Armstrong is running away from the somber melody at a break neck pace. There is sweet break as he sings "Keep my feet on the ground" like a mantra until the song explodes into an uplifting conclusion. The dynamic House of Ghosts has sweet tempo changes in all the right places. The drumming is magnificently jammy. The chorus full of guitar sustains and harmonies is catchy and destined to become a sing along at shows.
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Robb Donker
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