FACS - Wish Defense

 

Chicago trio FACS return with sixth studio album from Trouble In Mind on February 7th

FACS are unlike any band you would have heard of before. They remain an enigmatic threesome who have garnered a cult following since the release of Void Moments in March 2020, when the world took a turn.

That album was an insular one, and one whose lyrical content coupled with that throbbing basslines and persistent drums along with a vocal of insolence. Yet it is still able to connect due to the musicianship on display by Brian Case (vocals), Jonathan Van Herik (original returning member on bass) and Noah Leger on drums.

Case, the main writer, states that this album revolves around the idea of doppelgangers or doubles, in a sense FACS are holding a mirror up to themselves to make tackle yourself and what motivations lie ahead.

Second track 'Ordinary Voices' is one that is familiar in the FACS form; pulsating and unrelenting in its message, which is quickly followed by title track 'Wish Defense' which has this ear worm of a bass line at the outset, culminating in the shout 'I'm not here' on repeat as a chorus. It is not so much disillusionment they are trying to sell, they can see the listener and can relate.

 

Track four, 'A Room' is an archetypal wall of sound number, with Case's vocals merely being held up by the roaring sound being created.

While it may not reach the heights or lightning in the bottle of Void or the follow up Present Tense (2021), this nevertheless remains a supreme statement of art by a band who are firing on all cylinders. This sort of album gives you hope that when given a chance a band can still be heard.

At seven songs in length and thirty minutes in runtime, this is still a curated piece of production helmed by the late Steve Albini, in his last professional work.

Wish Defense is released from Trouble in Mind on February 7th

My thanks to them and OneBeat PR for the review opportunity.

FACS - Still Life in Decay

 

New album from Chicago trio FACS out 7th April via Trouble in Mind

When the world was on lockdown, there was the opportunity to catch up on cultural aspects you missed but also a chance for discovery. In this role as a mild-mannered music reviewer, you get sent links to all sorts of musical genres and it is very hard on occasion to weave out of your lane and yet the chance came to review a three-piece from Chicago that were definitely not on my radar. This band was FACS encompassing guitarist Brian Case, bassist Alianna Kalaba and drummer Noah Leger. 

The album from 2020 was Void Moments and for this writer, it was a touchstone and portal for those times in lockdown - an album of ferocity and anger that spoke to me as this writer dealt with the boredom of lockdown and not seeing friends. FACS' brand of intense and post-punk noise was a calling card to me and yet a band that cleverly spoke more to me than an acoustic guitar.

After Void Moments came 2021's Present Tense, a quick follow-up to that pandemic album that sustained their growth as a band with buzzy feedback aplenty and Cage's lyrics again struggling to make sense of the world.

The new album Still Life in Decay is possibly the final swansong for the threesome as Kalaba seeks pastures new, yet the rhythm and unity of the band is still paramount, their tightness again only growing to this resounding maelstrom of disquiet. FACS are a loud band but are capable of such quiet moments of reflection amidst the undoubted sensory overload.

Opening track 'Constellation' is indicative - Cage's vocals burst out of the gate and then quickly recede to the pulsating bass and drum dance that Kalaba and Leger create. 'When You Say' is a call to arms of making sense of the world. 'Slogan' is about watching someone change which is a theme running through the album. 

As Brain Case explains: 'change...how that's seen from different people's perspectives. 'Still Life In Decay' is about that kind of change, realizing that relationships exist in different ways for individuals in shared situations, and how you navigate that as a unit. We knew when we were making this record that Alianna was going to be stepping away from the band, which of course heavily informed the sessions. Filled with deep understanding and love, but still those insecurities and feelings of loss, or an end of something. Despite that, 'Still Life In Decay' feels more like a beginning, it's tense and vulnerable in a way we haven't presented ourselves before. I'm so proud of what the three of us did with this album.'

The album is akin to a ghostly presence with this aura of transformation abounding, drifting past you but maintaining a lingering presence throughout, there is something earthly and yet other-worldy about the album as a whole. A journey of anxiety and white noise and with a gripping energy throughout.

Still Life in Decay is out from Trouble in Mind on 7th April

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity

FACS Interview

FACS release their third album on 27th March from Trouble in Mind records, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Case, guitarist of the band and a Chicago native. Read my review of VOID MOMENTS here

• What is the history of FACS and what is he MO of the group?

FACS formed out of the ashes of Disappears, no real trajectory or mission in mind just wanted to continue making music in relatively the same direction we were headed with Disappears. In that regard, there was no real MO other than letting things play out as they happen and not forcing any ideas into a certain box. That said, we like playing with limitations and having self-imposed constraints.

• How did the three of you come together?

We've all been friends for almost 20 years at this point, mostly through our various bands playing together over the years and community spaces like Empty Bottle and the Rainbo Club. We've all been working musicians that whole time so it was easy to connect and use our shared interests/experiences to make something together.

• How long was the recording process for this album?

Three days to track, I think it was about three days mixing as well but we weren't there for that part.

• Do you go in with an idea of what you want to record or does it come together when you start in the studio?

We try and leave room for both. It's nice to go in and get warmed up with what you know, ideas with some structure or familiarity, but we like to leave as much time to experiment and get uncomfortable or out of our zone. They're equally important in our process.

• What did you listen to when you were growing up?

It was just what I had access to, my parent's record collection, mostly radio. By the time I was a teenager I was almost exclusively listening to whatever Dischord Records was releasing, mixtapes by friends, The Smiths, Sonic Youth.

• What do you listen to nowadays?

It's all over the place, I'm as curious as ever but I'm still as much influenced by my initial sources as I ever was. Today I listened to Wayne Phoenix, Alternative TV, Shabaka and the Ancestors, The Native Cats, Alabaster Deplume, and Fugazi (so far).

• What is your hope for the album now the power of touring has been restricted?

I just want people to listen to it, hopefully in one sitting with no distractions. We don't really have an agenda other than making music and challenging what we think it is we do. Even touring, which we love, is not the priority, it's moving forward and making something unexpected or unknown.

• How do you see the music industry changing due to Covid-19? Are you worried as recording artists?

I'm hoping C-19 changes everything, the whole world. We all need to wake up and look at what we do day to day and figure out how to make things sustainable for the future. In this country there's a lot that needs to be broken down and rebuilt, the music industry included. I hope this forced self isolation is the first step in people looking outside of their own immediate field of vision for a way to move the world forward. We're the virus.

• Chicago Deep Pan or New York slice?

Chicago Deep Dish is trash, disgusting. New York slice is supreme. That said I will never live anywhere else, I firmly believe Chicago is the best city in the world, NYC being a close second.

Go seek out merch and material from FACS bandcamp page here.
Void Moments is out now on all formats

My thanks as always to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.

FACS - Void Moments

Chicago trio, FACS, release 27th March by Trouble in Mind records

The trio comprise of Brian Case (guitarist), Noah Leger (drummer) and Alianna Kalaba (bassist) - the two men were in Disappears before the dissolution of that band an they made a 2017 debut entitled Negative Houses. The addition of Kalaba led to 2018's Lifelike.

They return with Void Moments, perhaps there most accessible album thus far - featuring songs that are less oblique and open to interpretation yet still featuring the darkness of their roots.

The album is full of these clashes - light and darkness, beauty and harshness, deafening din and softness - none more so encapsulated than in lead single 'Teenage Hive' and the follow up 'Casual Indifference'

There is a hypnotic quality to the compositions starting with opener 'Boy' a track that is both pulsating and full of flow, one thing this album could never be accused of would be lacking in energy which is infectious and careens through the seven tracks on the album.

'Teenage Hive' is one of those such infectious tracks, a riveting bassline and guitar thrash running through the core of the track that creates this sonic surge, no wonder it was the lead single.

'Casual Indifference' is the epitome of this brutal post-punk music and perhaps the standout of the album - a combination of art rock (see Activity release also) and emo shoegaze, it has a hook on you that will not let go.

FACS are a band who are searching for answers in this messy world, trying to make sense of their place and what purpose if any does this type of industrial heavy rock music have anymore.

Yet the musicianship of the trio really comes to the fore, a tightness as a group that cannot be matched plus there is a certain kind of joy coming through the airwaves in their unity together to create this unique soundscape.

Void Moments is out on 27th March from Trouble In Mind records and the bandcamp website.

My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.