Fiction Family - Fiction Family reviews
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y
| Billboard |
 On paper, the combination of Switchfoot's Jon Foreman and Nickel Creek's Sean Watkins seems improbable—and risky. But as Fiction Family, the two San Diego musicians find plenty of sonic common ground and, most important, a dozen richly crafted and intriguingly rendered songs. "When She's Near" and "Out of Order" kick off "Fiction Family" on a trippy note, establishing the duo's airy harmonies and the latter driven by a rolling rhythm and finished with a swirling, psychedelic electric guitar solo. Offbeat sound effects and loops color several of the songs, but the strong songwriting is Fiction Family's foundation, and nowhere is that heard better than on the heaven-seeking "Closer Than You Think" but also in the ambient anthemry of "We Ride," the layered rootsiness of "Elements Combined," the plaintive romanticism of "Not Sure and" the plucky ragtime flavor of "Look For My Baby." Foreman and Watkins are surely brothers in arms, which makes this partnership a fully functional "Family." —Gary Graff...full text |
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| Pastemagazine |
Based on the players—Jon Foreman, lead singer of multi-platinum Christian rock band Switchfoot, and Sean Watkins, guitarist for Grammy-winning newgrass band Nickel Creek—you might expect radio-ready pop songs with a bluegrass flair from Fiction Family’s self-titled debut. Opener “When She’s Near” is a little misleading (albeit delightful)—all jingle-jangle and pop harmonies, it’s much sunnier than the subsequent 11 songs; more Switchfoot than Nickel Creek. Fiction Family mostly comes off as a Jon Foreman solo record, featuring The Guy from Nickel Creek Who’s Not Chris Thile.
The softly orchestrated “Betrayal” and the creaky “Mostly Prove Me Wrong” could be B-sides from Foreman’s Winter EP (a fourth of his moody solo project based on the seasons). In his own songs—a majority of the record—Foreman’s M. Wardian vocals share the spotlight with his sentimental but gritty lyrics. He goes wild with similes and metaphors and other literary devices you learn about in middle school (“her eyes were like the winter,” “love is red, love is a dollar that’s already spent,” “we were both drinking fiction,” “there’s war in my blood,” etc.), but it’s rarely trite, and otherwise cryptic lyrics balance his sometimes-precious wordplay. “Betrayal” typifies Foreman’s lyrical style: “I watched her as you put me in the dirt / She had my wallet wrapped inside her skirt / And I went numb, I went numb / So I’m not dead if what you did don’t hurt.”...full text |
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| Slantmagazine |
| Acollaboration between Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins and Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman, Fiction Family doesn't stray too far from the radio-friendly, acoustic pop of either singer-songwriter's previous groups. If their self-titled debut lacks an element of surprise, both Watkins and Foreman know how to write a memorable enough hook and they've made some interesting production choices with the rhythm tracks on most of their songs to overcome some of the project's more pedestrian, Jack Johnson-style trappings. Lead single "When She's Near," for instance, doesn't win points for its lyrics ("When she's near/The new year's here/And there's not a resolution/That I can't do") but is redeemed by the duo's intricate vocal harmonies and an enthusiastic percussion line that recalls '60s-era bubblegum pop hits. The ragtime bounce of closer "Look for My Baby" is even more infectious, and the stately chamber-pop arrangement of "Elements Combined" favorably recalls the more adventurous style of Nickel Creek's swan song Why Should the Fire Die? Slightly atonal with the rest of the project is the even riskier, dissonant, electronic coda to "Please Don't Call It Love" that makes for a poor approximation of Radiohead. Whether Fiction Family moves forward or remains just a one-off side project, most of the chances that Watkins and Foreman have taken for this record pay off, making for a project that is sure to appeal to their existing fanbases and which stands on its own merits....full text |
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