Formed by singer/guitarist Neil Sabatino as a solo project in 2001 after his stint in punk rockers Pencey Prep, northern NJ’s ever-changing Fairmont now boasts six members; the seven-song I Wish I Was Stupid is their 13th album. As on 2023’s Recluse Jamboree, their nuanced indie pop/rock is again thoughtful and engaging. With Sabatino’s voice evoking Michael Stipe, the resolute, galvanizing “Boring Dumb Song” (and its Beatles “Please Please Me”-like intro) brings to mind sardonic R.E.M. Green tunes “Pop Song 89” and “Stand.” (The song’s AI-generated video — see below — was created by Sabatino’s imaginative daughters Enid and Ivy.) He also recalls Dean Wareham on the probing, Paul McCartney “Uncle Albert”-beckoning “Remedy” and pleading, Wings “Let ‘Em In”-tinted “is/as.” And on the chiding, Rockwell “Somebody’s Watching Me”-esque “Filthy Mouth,” he adopts a Stan Ridgway side-of-mouth snarl. A faithful rendition of David Bowie’s 1980 UK #1 Scary Monsters smash “Ashes to Ashes” — with Christian Kisala nailing its distinct ghostly keyboard melody — clinches another winner.
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