Phil Spector to Roxy Music; Phoenix to MGMT - debut album from Fine Times
Album release: Fine Times (self-titled)
Release date: April 8th 2013
Label: Light Organ Records
Listen: on Bandcamp
Taking their name from the Woody Allen short story Fine Times: An Oral Memoir, Vancouver duo Fine Times have announced their self-titled debut full-length album will see its UK release this April. Feeling at a bit of a loss in 2010, when their previous project closed shop, Matthew Moldowan and Jeffrey Josiah Powell laid out plans for a new undertaking, with an idea to be as nimble as possible. Just a matter of months later the band were holed up in Vancouver’s Warehouse Studio working with producer Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara / New Pornographers) on this, their debut album. To celebrate the release, Fine Times are making the first single “Hey Judas” available for free download at RCRD LBL.
“We scrambled. It really happened all of sudden,” says Moldowan, explaining that producer Howard Redekopp opened a small window, and they jumped in. “It seemed a little reckless, but the gamble paid off.” Redekopp added his trademark vintage synths into the record as Moldowan and Powell confidently pounded out their pop sounds. It came to be a perfect fit.
Moldowan modestly admits he cannot stray away from a hook when he says, “I have a short attention span so if a record doesn’t catch me in the first listen or two, I probably won’t put it back on the record player.”
Already more than making a name for themselves in Canada (with a nomination for Emerging Artist of the Year at the SiriusXM Indies during Canadian Music Week and showcases forthcoming at CMW and SXSW) it is hard to believe that the heart-melting bridge in High Brow Low Times was constructed to simply aid a short attention span. From the grand procession of Lions, to the wall-of-sound synths in Hey Judas and the 80’s-flecked rhythms of And It Happened At Midnight, it’s difficult to tag any tracks as “album filler.” If there’s a lineage of sophisticated, lovingly crafted pop that stretches from Phil Spector, through Roxy Music, to Phoenix and MGMT, then Fine Times is sitting somewhere near the end of it.
Reaction
“Fine Times stay upbeat, transforming their despondency into a youthful, reverb- glazed jingle” – MTVHIVE.com
“The self-titled effort was produced by Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers) and features “Hey Judas.” This orchestral rock number feels bigger than two band members, culling together a glittering melody with layers of indie theatrics, synthesizers and soaring vocals.” - RCRDLBL.com
“Hey Judas relishes in layers of atmospheric synths and guitars… it’s cemented in its own loop that never seems to get old” – INDIESHUFFLE.com
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