Album Review by EDF
There were claims a few years ago that Michael Jackson was sleeping in an oxygen tent bed to keep younger. God knows if this was ever true or not but if it were, there must have been a few musicians hiding under the bed that have only recently crawled out and gone straight to the nearest recording studio. From there, the punk and new wave sounds from 25 years ago come screaming out of the stereo speakers like an old memory that reminds you of how old you are.
From the opening COLD BLOODED, you are treated to funky bass lines, mixed with organ riffs and frantic vocal work from lead singer Geremy Jasper. Here The Fever come across more as a mix of The Vapors, Devo and Magazine. The thing with The Fever is that they sound like they believe in what they are doing and that is how they will be able to build up their fan base.
Tracks like LADYFINGERS and LABOR OF LOVE are energetic workouts that would make you go seek out the group at one of their live gigs. PUT IN ON YOU is a slow ‘lets make out in the back seat of the car’ type song while the even slower DREAM MACHINE sounds unlike the rest of the album. The 80’s electro vocals on SCORPIO is a kind of a nod towards Grandmaster and the Furious Five. Not all the songs are classics, as NITE VISION and HEXXXED sound a bit messy and aimless.
You can’t help liking this album as it sounds like the group had a lot of fun recording it. Some people might slate them for not sounding original and in a world where the single charts are full of clones, who has a right to have a go at this bunch of musicians. They have obviously put in a lot of time recording this and it shows. Having toured with the likes of Hot Hot Heat, The Fever’s time will come. Just have your medication ready when it happens.
