Far From Finished – Forgetable

Boston’s Far From Finished will be officially releasing their new album, Forgettable on July 27 on Old Shoe Records. But it’s also available all summer long on The Vans Warped Tour.

Fans of Far From Finished will be familiar with the band’s tendency to change styles from record to record. Their first effort, Nuthin’ But Class was their attempt at an old school Oi! Record, East Side of Nowhere being a standard Boston punk record, and then the most recent transition to a poppier, but still aggressive sound on Living in the Fallout.

Forgettable furthers that poppy progression tenfold, to something that could be considered lacking in energy in comparison to previous efforts. It could even be considered radio friendly, as vocalist Steve Neary’s voice has evolved with the band. He’s gone from “a bear,” as he refers to himself on Nuthin’ But Class, to a very clean, straightforward style that was polished up a ton in the studio. Along with cleaning up his vocal delivery, he’s cleaned up his lyrics. Over the span of Forgettable, it’s as if he says “fuck” about as many times as he does in the song Disasteroff of Living in the Fallout.

Is this an attempt at going commercial? Certainly some will think so. It’s definitely an understandable take after hearing all the studio effects [choruses, violins, etc] and the beats to the songs themselves. It’s definitely something many fans of Far From Finished aren’t going to like-but it’s a record that definitely grows on the listener the more spins the disc is given.

Forgettable starts off with Outerspace, a song that kicks off with Steve doing vocals over piano. When the band kicks in around two minutes, it sounds almost like stadium rock with the effects in the background. The band’s rhythm section, led by Oscar Capps on rhythm guitar and Pesky on bass[Marc Canatta and Adam Porris have been replaced since the recording of this record], kicks in with a bang on a song that will have Far From Finished fans wondering what the fuck happened.

I Just Wanna Play is a very poppy song, but the intro guitar riff is one of the most aggressive pieces of music on the record. It’s definitely a song that old fans could potentially get into, if not immediately, then over time. Give it a chance. Following I Just Wanna Play is Arthur Avenue, another song that this reviewer doubts many old fans will be able to get behind. It’s a killer piece of music, however, and it’s easy to feel Neary’s emotion behind the lyrics, even without that edge that has been with his voice for so long.

Having seen the next track, State O Maine, live, this reviewer can say it’s the highlight of the record, at the very least in a live setting. Live, Steve gets all his emotion and edge behind the song[That being said, see this band live if you haven’t already. They’re incredible], and it translates live on record. On the record, the song seems to lack some of the passion heard in the live version, but it still comes off as the highlight of Forgettable.

Marigoldis another highlight of the record, a 5+ minute song that speaks volumes to the listener. It’s a lyrically strong song that is without doubt about a relationship, with lyrics like: “You give an inch/I’ll take a mile/You look so sad/I’ll just smile”

Forgettable is an all-around change of pace for Far From Finished. The songs are longer[multiple over 5 minutes], they’re a lot poppier, and even the feel and direction of the band has changed. It’s definitely not something that will have been expected by many listeners, and will probably turn many of their old fans away from the band, though if you got into them through Living in the Fallout there’s a decent chance you’ll like this. That said, it’s definitely something older fans can get into, especially after seeing the songs live.

It’s recommended that this record be given a few spins and given a fair chance. This reviewer didn’t like it at first, but it’s since become something that is listened to on a daily basis. Even if you don’t give it one, still go see them live. It’ll be well worth the door price, and they’re not going to let you down.