Ever heard of the sophomore slump? Film School hasn’t. When we first warmed up to San Francisco’s Film School, we were pleasantly surprised with their stunning debut effort. Now, after almost a year later, a stolen van, and some time off, the guys have returned to bring one killer of a follow-up release.
“Dear Me” opens the record with all guns a-blazing, morphing into a shoegazer fan’s dream track, and leads itself into the first single, “Lectric.” Haunting vocals send chills down our spines, and the lush, jangly guitars keep the pace. By the time you realize the fifteen-second “Meanmedian Mode” is on, it already has turned into the droning “Sick Hipster Nursed By Suicide Girl.” On “Two Kinds” the band livens things up a bit, playing on their poppier side yet still keeping things melodic.
Going back to the drenched sea of guitars, the almost instrumental “Capitalized I” swells. This is the type of song I imagine listening to while sitting in a dark room on a sofa with some close friends, doing things we shouldn’t be doing in the daylight. If that’s your thing, this is as close to perfection as you’re going to get.
Ending with “What I Meant To Say,” the song teeters the line between cerebral jam and possible moody dance floor hit; with drawn back vocals, a heavy bass line, crashing drums and shimmering guitars. With so many bands trying to relive the glory days of My Bloody Valentine, Jesus And Mary Chain and Galaxie 500, it’s nice to see that somebody out there has done it right; not becoming a copy-cat, but making it truly their own.
