Ever since Dylan went electric and a lone voice in the crowd shouted that forever-misquoted line, ‘Do you know any Judas Priest,’ and thus rock music was born, it has been hurtling headlong into oblivion, laying waste to all before it, barely in control and living on the edge. I mean that in a good way. A great way. And it is for the sonic sons and daughters of that moment that FarFarAway make music. Their debut album, Constellation Strange, is not aimed at those surfing the cutting edge of that wave but at anyone who has ever swum in its waters.
So here we find everything from 70s classic rock influences, 80s heavy metal forces, lashings of 90s grunge, alt-rock and emo and even the occasional punk power play woven through the music. It’s a veritable history of rock and roll! It’s not looking to build new futures; it is holding a torch aloft, part nostalgic appreciators of the past, part sonic riot squad keeping the ongoing party relevant.
The splendidly named ‘Housewives in Suburban Ghettos’ opens things up and sets the tone perfectly; heavy emo vibes run on incendiary riffs and pummelling drums; it’s dense, it’s dark, it’s delicious. The stall is set out…on with the show.
‘Necronim IV’ reminds us that the American rock sound of recent years isn’t too far removed from the short-lived and often overlooked ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’… is there not at least an echo of formative Iron Maiden in there?
‘Chrome and Gore’ is pop-punk on speed. ‘Human Centipede’ runs on a brilliant staccato groove. ‘Crash and Burn’ allows itself some creative breathing space, and ‘Stillwater’ takes the spirit of punk as it evolved into hardcore as its engine room.
Not only a fine album and a masterful debut, but Constellation Strange reminds us that rock music isn’t too much about changing the landscape; it is about finding new ways of capturing the primal spirit of rock and roll in the fashion of whatever age it finds itself in. By combining the fresh and the familiar, the unexpected and the anticipated, FarFarAway have delivered a brilliant album.
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