Loom

Fear of Men release their debut album which is full of well written songs about love and loss. This album is a perfect setting for anyone that was truly in love with the soft, yet beautiful side of 90's indie female fronted pop. The title of the album both alludes to the interweaving textures that run throughout the record and references the darkness that hovers above much of Fear of Men's output. Rather than simply marrying a handful of influences, Fear of Men designs their music from an almost uncomfortably personal place. Weiss broadcasts crippling disconnection, boredom and sexual dread with all the dour verve of a young Morrissey. The band flit between dire philosophical observations and listless melancholia, riding melodies so carefree that anguished sentiments come off more like lazy sighs. The songs owe as much to the writing of Anais Nin or Fassbinder's films as they do to the cold sonic atmospheres of the Chills or Broadcast. Classical instrumentations appear throughout "Loom", warped and distorted alongside musical saws and backwards guitars, giving a sense of the imperfect to the album's pristine pop melodies.