Album Review: Filligar – Keepsakes Of The Interior
2 min read
Filligar’s Keepsakes of The Interior is the album the band are most proud of, and indeed the record bursts with an impressive level of self-assurance. There is nothing faltering or hesitant about the release: one gets the sense even from the opening chords that this is a band that know not only where they’re going, but how they’re going to get there. Although it may not break the mould, it’s a classy, impressive collection of soft-rock songs, and the band’s finest release to date.
A sense of bittersweet longing permeates the record. Album opener Motor Shine isn’t exactly sad, per se, but there is an undercurrent of wistful desire that elevates the track to another level. Indeed, it’s the song that best defines where Filligar are at right now: with its pleasant instrumentation, and simple but well-drawn lyrics, it’s a track that quietly but insistently builds momentum, culminating in a subtle climax that genuinely moves. Filligar never go for the throat: they’re more interested in taking a subtler, less obvious route into one’s heart, an artistic choice similarly obvious on the understated and powerful What Can You Do.
Best of all, though the band have an obvious style, they’re not afraid to change things up. A track like White Light Rose takes the album in a slightly different direction, rattling as it does with a certain lustful longing, it sees the band at their most rough and raw. Hurricane Entertainment is a left turn of a different kind, what with its trembling electro arrangements and an impressive pop chorus that manages to be eminently listenable, without ever feeling dull or one note.
Photos of Madrid sees the band take a little more time to create mood, and the song benefits from its longer running time (it sits at five minutes on the nose.) Without ever testing the audience’s patience, the song climbs a steep hill upwards to a point of true catharsis. By the time the swirling pianos truly take hold around the two minute mark, one feels genuinely and deeply invested in the band and their message.
As it stands, Filligar are one of the most impressive bands you’ve never heard of, and Keepsakes of the Interior is guaranteed to be the album that comes out of nowhere and takes you completely by surprise. Make some time for it, and you will soon find yourself totally under its gentle, tender spell.
