Fake Problems – It's Great To Be Alive

Eclectic, frenetic, and chaotic - the early impression you get of It's Great To Be Alive, the second fully-distributed album from Naples, Florida-based band Fake Problems, is one of disorder and incoherence. Repeated listens reinforce this - this is a multi-faceted album, both interested in being serious as well as in being completely daft, and interested in being quiet and introspective as well as being loud and all-encompassing.The truth is, the various different guises, themes and musical styles attempted by the band here just don't quite gel, despite their best efforts - but it's also true to say that the resulting haphazard and patchwork effect is part of the album's irresistable charm. Frontman Chris Farren's vocals often make him sound on the cusp on insanity, but it's a testament to his abilities that he's as listenable on the boisterous romantic flag-wave 'The Dream Team' as he is during the meditation on self-exile and loneliness that is 'Too Cold To Hold'. These two radically differing examples of song styles happen to be at opposite ends of the album - but what makes It's Great To Be Alive so consistently interesting is the fact that dramatic shifts in style and tone occur regularly throughout the album. And yet against the odds, this eclecticism doesn't tear the album apart, but instead reinforces its jovial and endearing eccentricity.One of the lengths the band has gone to in their attempt to make the album flow is the inclusion of brief vignette songs, which sometimes act as self-contained intros or buildups to larger songs that follow them. Opener '1234' is an example of this, a start to the album which is almost gone before you've noticed it. This is completely fine, though, because of how it is connected to the above-mentioned 'The Dream Team' with its simple chorus of "I want to be the American dream / But I need you right next to me / If I'm ever gonna feel free". The song also introduces a recurring motif of raucous backing vocalists and ragged handclaps, giving the album an inclusive feeling. In the same way, the next song, the narrative piece 'You're A Serpent, You're A She-Snake' introduces in its climax a penchant for the epic, which also reappears later on, especially on the life-affirming and nostalgic closer 'Heart BPM'.There's much else to be enjoyed, from the afterlife-based trash talk of 'The Heaven and Hell Cotillion' to the materialistic 'Diamond Rings'. Ultimately It's Great To Be Alive is a bit of a mess, but in the best possible way. Even if it's hard to envisage anyone enjoying everything offer here, the energy levels present throughout and the infectious atmosphere of near-madness will mak up for that. Enjoyable stuff. 80%Fake Problems on MySpace