It's easy to distrust bands that go out of their way to play up their elusivness on a debut, but not for the reasons they might think. Trying to find a whole lot of Fol Chen info, photographic or otherwise, on the web is a big fat waste of time. And presumably, they want you to listen to their debut and think, "man, who are Fol Chen?" Of course, that can just as easily turn into a dismissive "man, who the fuck are Fol Chen?" Especially when similar tactics worked for intentionally faceless and musically mysterious acts from (early) Sunny Day Real Estate to the Knife to the Sincerely Yours crew, and these guys play a click-push electro-acoustic pop thing whose first priority should be distancing itself from the similar likes of Anathallo and Le Loup.
And yet for all of their attempts at presenting a consolidated front, Fol Chen make good on their charge on account of being a deceptively good singles act. Opener "The Believers" sets out to establish a mood with vague conspiratorial lyrics and generally "album track"-ness, but it's a flat opener; follow-up "No Wedding Cake" makes good use of *Remain in Light-*styled funk guitar and an investment in motion. Likewise, "The Idiot" comes off like a less-stylized, more approachable Junior Boys, doing the old C&W trick of offering dedication as a proper substitute to one's intelligence.
But if this all sounds a little too cutesy in that 2005 way to you, Fol Chen distinguish themselves during John Shade's midsection with some seriously percussive production. "Red Skies Over Garden City (The Ballad of Donna Donna)" tumbles out of the court of King Crimson with cavernous drum patterns, while "Winter, That's All" manages a stomp-the-yard drumline mixed with rave keyboards. But if you're gonna pick a breakout single from John Shade, your best bet is "Cable TV". It's lyrical idea is cliché, but there's a certain sense of slink (if not necessarily sexiness) that recalls, I dunno, Bran Van 3000 or any number of late-1990s one-offs-- its "Killing Me Softly"-style sitar drop is just dorky enough to be kinda loveable.
As good as "Cable TV" and "Winter, That's All" sound, *John Shade'*s main weakness was supposed to be its strength-- during the points where the tempo dies down and the songwriting hues closer to traditional forms, there's not enough personality or character in the vocals to compensate, leading to stretches of indie promo-pile filler. Not quite up to the level that Fol Chen consider themselves at-- they've compared their music to the obelisk that graces the cover of Led Zeppelin's Presence (be forewarned that it sounds nothing like, say, "Achilles Last Stand" or "Tea for One"), and while it's not that transfixing, Fol Chen at least have our attention going forward.
