Style: Alternative Rock, Progressive Rock (Clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Pearl Jam, 311, Foo Fighters, Fair to Midland
Country: Canada
Release date: 12 September 2024
We are now far enough away from the 90s that, like the 80s, artists with a sound rooted in that decade come across as “retro” and “nostalgic” instead of as aping a painfully dated and passé era, even if for many of us (me), the 90s feel like twenty-five minutes ago. In fact, many of the bands I’ve reviewed recently have the 90s zeitgeist to thank for their sound, whether it be Orion’s take on Rush’s turn-of-the-millennium alt-rock or Feras Arrabi’s union of SNES JRPG music with progressive rock and jazz fusion. Vancouver’s Fen are no stranger to 90s music either, returning after a twelve-year break with their sixth album Dear Mouse: how well does it pay homage to the decade that only certain kids remember?
Fen live and breathe 90s alt rock on Dear Mouse, exuding a youthful charm through medium-pitched vocals, lively drum work, and in-your-face guitar solos, all delivered with a touch of quirk and theatricality. Tracks like “Ritual Lite” have the swagger and kineticism of Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow” with the rapid-fire vocal delivery of Everything Everything‘s Jonathan Higgs, while “Recall” begins like a brooding 311 track, picking up speed in its latter half with an addictive chorus. Fen even dip their toes into Foo Fighters-style pop-punk on tracks like “The Password is I Believe” and “Dying on a Hill (of Cubicle, Window, Steel, and Concrete),” utilizing punchy power chord-led verses and huge choruses, making Dear Mouse a veritable grab-bag of rock styles.
The most immediate and engaging facet of Dear Mouse is the energy emanated by faster-paced songs – I absolutely love the moments when vocalist Doug Harrison spits off lyrics at a hundred miles an hour on “Dying on a Hill” or “Ritual Lite,” utilizing rhythmic playfulness in his voice despite the velocity. “Our Latest Quarry” sits at a comfortable mid-pace for most of its runtime but surprises the listener with an uncharacteristically fast-paced guitar solo complemented by powerful high-pitched belts; “E.D.B.D.” incorporates both speed and groove, breaching post-hardcore territory with lopsided mathy guitar riffs establishing its backbone; and “The Seam of the Heart” ends on the most progressive moment of the album, a culmination of quick speed and swirling instrumentation.
This praise is not to discount Dear Mouse’s evocative slower moments. “The Seam of the Heart” begins with a moody vocal delivery in the verses, hitting some gorgeous high notes on the chorus, and finally cranking the drama up to maximum on the syncopated bridge before breaking down into a brief standalone vocal performance; “Dear Mouse” eschews live drums in favor of sparse electronic percussion complemented by a tense, watery guitar tone and almost slurred vocals, slowly building in power yet retaining the moodiness established in the introductory moments; closer “Into the Blaze” seemingly floats in space for its first half before exploding into a full band on the chorus, hitting some of the highest notes on the album in its closing moments. Fen write catchy and compelling tracks regardless of speed, intensity, or style, and Dear Mouse shows they are eager to put that on display.
However, Fen’s eagerness to showcase their acumen in different styles manifests in a feeling of incohesiveness across the album’s runtime despite Dear Mouse’s solid track-by-track songwriting, almost as if each song was written by a different band. “E.D.B.D.” stands out as a highlight for its interesting ideas and killer execution, but it sounds like it belongs on an entirely different album as its post-hardcore sensibilities stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of Dear Mouse’s alt rock. There are also considerable breaks in momentum from moment to moment, going from Pearl Jam-esque larger-than-life energy on “Ritual Lite” to brooding 311isms on “Recall” with little interconnection. However, I’m willing to forgive Dear Mouse‘s scattershot album design, as it’s an infectious and engaging listen nonetheless.
Despite some gripes with a somewhat inconsistent structure across its runtime, I was easily won over by Dear Mouse: Fen know how to have a lot of fun within the 90s alt rock framework, crafting songs that are both slow and contemplative alongside ones that roar with energy and swagger. Virtually every style they pursue is executed to great success, and I’m hopeful that on future releases1, Fen will discover ways of bringing these styles together in a wholly cohesive package while still retaining the unadulterated fun that oozes from their music.
Recommended Tracks: Ritual Lite, The Seam of the Heart, Dying on a Hill (of Cubicle, Window, Steel, and Concrete), E.D.B.D.
You may also like: Mile Marker Zero, Orion, Advent Horizon
Final verdict: 7.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook
Label: Independent release
Fen is:
– Doug Harrison (vocals)
– Sam Levin (guitars)
– Jeff Caron (bass)
– Randall Stoll (drums)
- Based on press releases, it seems likely that the band is done for now, as Dear Mouse is a compilation of songs that have been percolating for the last decade or so that they were just ready to get out into the world. So even if a follow-up is unlikely, I can still dream! ↩︎
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