Fear no Fish – Now or Never - Review by Adrian Brown

Fear no Fish are a band that are 10 years into their career but have strangely released very little in the way of recordings until last year when they released a single called “Stay” which reached number 1 in the unsigned chart and held this position for 3 weeks, hanging around in the top 40 for 11 weeks!.  Now things are suddenly starting to happen for the band.  The single gained them a place at the “In The City Songwriting Collective’s songwriting session” and in the same year they won the Liberty Radio UK Battle of the Bands and reached the final of JAR Music’s 2010 International Breakout Music Festival Final at the Islington 02 Academy. 

Now they are into their recording swing they have cut a new EP entitled “Now or Never” and after 10 years it probably is now or never for them to make a name for themselves.   I must admit to being a fan of music that doesn’t rely on mad effects or gimmicks and that’s exactly what they have produced.  This is a set of five very likable guitar driven indie rock songs that are well written and well constructed. 

The opening track “Stay” rattles along at a high energy but somehow atmospheric pace followed  “Mick –e Bubbles” which keeps the energy flowing with a stabby Futurheadsish rhythm, although singer / guitarist Chris Ransome’s vocals are lacking a little in power on this track.  Not so on the rest of the EP though, especially on later tracks. 

“Paint by Numbers” has some vaguely SOAD like guitar work in places and some interesting drum work by Rob Walker but it’s the last two tracks that do it for me.  There is a liveliness and vigor that is maybe lacking in earlier songs. 

“The Truth” with its Foo Fighters driving rhythm has some nice bass work by Mike Ransome backed with creative drumming from Rob and the final track “Broken” is by far and away the best track on the EP.  It starts slightly disappointingly with a vocal line that sounds way too similar to the majority of the mediocre skater boy rubbish but when the band kicks in it immediately fits and all visions of spotty boarding dudes vanish and the prog rock fan in me starts to really listen, especially in the guitar solo when memories of Extreme, early Rush and even Yes come flooding back as these influences are effortlessly woven into their very en vogue indie rock sound. 

All in all there is much to like on this EP.  How it will stand up against the likes of Biffy Clyro and the Foo Fighters is up for debate though.  Sound wise Fear no Fish’s time is now but I think other bands may have pipped them to the post.