Album Review: Fortune – Staring At The Ice Melt
3 min read
Flamboyant trio Fortune are a fairly unknown band outside of their home turf of Paris. The band have recently released their debut album Staring At The Ice Melt.
Some people may already know the song Bully which has over the past 6 weeks received extensive radio play. The song has found a home on the album which revisits the 80’s when bands like Human League and the Pet Shop Boys were in their prime.
Opening the album is Under The Sun. The track is synth crazy. If Human League and La Roux got together and conceived a love child – its a safe assumption to say that this would be their creation. Its not a stand out but it definitely leaves you with a euphoric 80’s after-taste.
From here the album tends to go straight into two consecutive space fillers. Gimme and Nothin lack originality and are instant forgettables on the record.
With its infectious snare intro the album moves onto fan favourite Bully and its a welcoming lift for the so far quite generic sounding record. Its old school and upbeat and due to the popularity of the song I think this track will be the selling point for the album.
Highway Part 1 seems unavailing in its bid to provide a noteworthy instrumental for the record. It just doesn’t seem to go anywhere and is not only repetitive but in its 88 second lifespan – really quite irritating. The only positive thing to be said about this addition is that it does lead to Highway which in my opinion is the best track on the album. Its simple, its laid back, its effortless pop.
Further down the album is the notable Since Your Gone which provides the trio with the most indie inspired song on the album. Its stripped back and catchy and showcases a band with flare and finesse.
The rest sad to say is lifeless and unconvincing and tend to have the ‘skip’ appeal.
With the likes of fellow Parisians Air and Daft Punk among a few who have achieved worldwide critical and public acclaim for their originality and becoming mainstream commercial success stories, Fortune have a long way to go if they are to meet the same expectations. But expectations aside the band seem pretty tight and for the most part the album is generally reflecting a band, who with some extra effort applied, has potential.
It maybe synth packed indie and electronic jubilation in a welcoming time of 80’s revivals but Staring at the Ice Melt proves to be a display of hit-or-misses for Fortune. When its good its great but what the album lacks is consistency. A few stand out tracks watered down with far too many unmentionables makes Staring at the Ice Melt an album that is destined for the sale racks. A crime for the few gems growing among the weeds.
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