For the majority of us that are living life in the fast lane, memories of our adolescence are often awkward reminders of a time when unstable emotions ruled our every waking moment, and uncertainty lurked around every corner. Reaching adulthood was liberation of sorts, though we were introduced to a new wave of emotional trials and tribulations, since that is an integral part of living. Still, I personally have spent my decade since high school with little more than a cursory glance now and then into the rearview, glad to leave some rather embarrassing moments of my past in the dust. I am happily married with a wonderful wife and son who fill my life with joy, and those moments that once felt so pressing and important have long since been forgotten. Yet for the past few weeks, with the discovery of The Search’s For Connection Contact and Community Master, I have been watching a virtual movie of nonstop memories from that time, both enjoyable and somewhat cringe worthy, made vivid in a way that only a well done album can accomplish.To describe this album is to describe a wave of nostalgia. Low key and unassuming, FCCCM (don’t feel like typing it out over and over) focuses on steady bass lines that take center stage and propel the majority of the songs at a medium pace while light guitar melodies and simple effects provide a pleasant and somewhat mysterious atmosphere. This naturally provides the foundation for the vocals, which sooth and caresses the imagination as they take you on a journey that invoke those memories of loving someone from a distance, often unbeknownst to the target of your affections, and who can’t relate to that? “An Ounce of Courage” in particular has this effect on me, while possessing what is in my mind the best chorus of the album. Even as the lyrics are delivered, I immediately associate with the song’s message of watching someone you loved grow in their lives without so much as a glance backwards, even as you try desperately to gain their approval, and coming to terms with it. Each song that follows hits a similar note in my mind, with my favorite being “The Heart is A Lonely Hunter”, a slightly more up tempo and aggressive tune. The listening experience as a whole is pleasing to the ears, though often I find myself lost in my thoughts while using the album as a vehicle to explore them, and thus many of the songs tend to blur into one another without standing out. Still, I suspect that The Search would be pleased to hear this, as I believe the album is meant to be more than the sum of its parts.
With little experience in the indie seen, it is difficult for me to accurately draw any opinions based on previous experience with other bands, but I believe this also frees me to truly listen and appreciate FCCCM unhindered, and what I found was a wonderful journey into a past I seldom visit, and though the emotional scars still linger they have as much to do with who I have become as anything else in my life. Music is a vessel that can take us wherever we allow it to, and FCCCM is a journey worth taking.
--Audio Renaissance
