It’s a fact of musical life. There will be bands that redefine the musical landscape. They will leave their impression—thumbprints, riffs, beats—on hundreds of bands to follow, running the gamut from the direct, cheap lifting of musical notes like temporary tattoos, to the channeling of harder-to-place, intangible spirit of a band. Fake Problems straddles that saddle. At times, I believe they’ve got an original game plan: deft fusion of country and folk punk, all under the halo of DIY, and I like it. Other times, and you can almost picture them craning closer to the stereo’s speakers, cranking the volume, and, asking out loud, “How’d Against Me! do it?” Here’s to hoping Fake Problems aren’t content with choosing flash from wall, but continue ink and color their own originals.
–todd (Sabot)