Skip to content
DVDfever.co.uk – Foreign Born: Person To Person CD reviewElly Roberts reviews
Secretly Canadian Records
- Released: June 2009
- Rating: 6/10
- Vote and comment on this album:View Comments
The new West Coast sound. Cool, very cool.
LA band Foreign Born seem like an ambitious combo to me. Not only do they have multi-instrumentalists in their midst, theyve also recruited 18 additional players to supplement their intentions.
With the Fleet Foxes finally taking off especially in the UK, Im sure it wont be too long before Foreign Born catch-on as well.For whatever reason, theres a thing now about retro sounding bands (Crosby Stills and Nash proved a point at Glasto recently) with a focus on vocal harmonies like the Fleet Foxes and more recently Grizzly Bear.
On first listen at least, you think Person To Person it isnt going to be a massive unit-shifter at the shops or online. Then after some rotation, you eventually get sucked into its gorgeousness. Your perspective changes.The hooks, and there are many, circle around the bands forte harmony and melody that prevail throughout this often catchy and engaging collection of sumptuous Californian sun-pop, with a difference.
Foreign Born have plenty of punch and style to grab your attention, which starts from the get-go via jangly guitars of big-hitter Blood Oranges, then followed by the bouncy That Old Sun, which Im sure as Los Angelinos they know quite a bit about. This has all the makings of a crackin single.Skip one and were into crunchy rocker Winter Games. This heady blast is driven by an angular guitar roll and throbbing drums that pack a real punch, enough to get you dancing even.
After a while, Early Warnings has the same effect. This gem has high-harmonies and a guitar roll that keep you transfixed through its three minutes plus.Taking a step back in pace, Lions Share proves to be their most accomplished song so far, not that the others are that bad.
Its just a bit more sophisticated and measured in every department with those golden harmonies jumping out and slapping across the chops.
The verdict Better with each spin.
Weblink:myspace.com/foreignborn
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Blood Oranges
2. That Old Sun
3. Vacationing People
4. Winter Games
5. Early Warnings
6. Cant Keep Time
7. Lions Share
8. It Grew On You
9. See Us Home
10. Wait In This ChairView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.