72 KERRANG!
F
angclub’s 2017 self-titled debut
album announced the Dublin
trio’s arrival in thrilling fashion.
A boisterous helping of hooky,
anthemic punk-rock with
foundations in ‘90s grunge, it was a
brash opening statement with a resolutely
carpe diem attitude. Now, with
second LP Vulture Culture,
things are getting serious. While
the hooks are still here by the
bucketload, the Fangclub we’re
encountering in 2019 is a much
darker, deadlier beast. With lyrics
that stare suicide and paranoia in
the face, frontman Steven King
has described this record as one
where “the chaos makes sense
and the violence is fuel for the
fire”. In this description, he is
absolutely correct.
Opening track – and one of
the album’s finest moments –Last Time demonstrates the band’s recent
growth. Starting out as a tender, quiet
confession from Steven to his partner, it
takes a full four minutes to burst into life.
Patience is a virtue here, though. As the
song eventually explodes and becomes
the Fangclub we’re familiar with – all fuzzy
rock‘n’roll and amped-up emotion – the
payoff is well worth the wait. It’s a fine
piece of songwriting, and its impact is all
the better for the eerie, post-apocalyptic
voice-over at the end. Its declaration that
citizens must “hook up your subconscious
to your television, numb your
daydreams with the standard-
issue placebo, sit tight and
enjoy” sounds like something
ripped from the world of My
Chemical Romance’s Danger
Days: The True Lives Of The
Fabulous Killjoys. It’s creepy,
but oh so effective.
Written at the last minute
of the writing process in an
attempt to ensure maximum
honesty, Steven’s lyrics are one
of Vulture Culture’s strongest
elements, and his words
linger in the mind well afterthe record draws to a close. The chorus of
Nightmare – ‘You’re living in a nightmare,
baby’ – is a super-catchy, festival-ready gem
that exemplifies his knack for wrapping up
darkness in a hook, but even more revealing
are the words of album closer Slow. They
see the frontman divulge how he’s ‘Going
insane and no-one knows’. It’s a simply put
yet powerful account of the isolation that
mental illness brings, and one that will strike
a chord with many who hear it.
If there’s one criticism to be levelled
against Vulture Culture, it’s that, at times,
things can feel a little bit one-paced. Heavy
Handed, for example, is a decent song,
but following the likes of Every Day and
Kingdumb – tracks that work to a similar
end but are just better – it feels like a short
step on an album where Fangclub are so
frequently stretching the limits of their
sound. Having opened this record in such a
brilliant fashion and continued in a similarly
creative vein, these few bumps feel like they
could very easily have been tweaked into
something more. Still, Vulture Culture is an
undoubted success for a band who have
now proved there’s brains to match the bite
of their often excellent music. JAKE RICHARDSONFANGCLUB
VULTURE CULTURE
(vertigo)KKKK
Irish alt.rock crew
FANGCLUB open their
hearts on second album
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