BORROWED PROBLEMS
Out now
“On their brand-new debut LP Borrowed Problems, Fake Fireplace employs the sort of understated pop that fans of early 2000s indie will find comforting. Songwriter Neal Wright’s hypnotic compositions follow jagged lines, though they rarely avoid the opportunity to allow a song to unfold into satisfying crescendos, as heard most emphatically on the blooming anthem “School Spirit.” It’s a far cry from the trippy electronic menageries of Wright’s other project, Wave Collector, but flanked by drummer Will Hattman (Down Gown, Months) and keyboardist Ayal Alves (Kelli Schaefer, Siren and the Sea), Fake Fireplace operates in no less engaging terrain. On songs like “Knife to Your Back,” the Portland band’s gloomy outlook is manifested by ethereal keys, primeval percussive work, and enchanting fingerpicking. Throughout Borrowed Problems (which is being released tonight), Fake Fireplace’s tendency toward melodic experimentation is critical to how great the record sounds.” – Ryan Prado – Portland Mercury