Faye – Faye

Faye are an all female trio who hail from North Carolina and this is their self titled debut EP. This is fuzzy lo-fi indie rock which exemplifies the punk spirit of do it yourself. Musically they remind me of early UK punk bands such as The Adverts and The Slits, in as much their songwriting and ambition is way ahead of where they actually are at the moment, this is a band that is up and running before they should be crawling.

Opening track Yellow Canary is a fuzzy thoughtful number with haunting vocals that comes to a sudden and unexpected end. They step up the pace for Teacups, which for me stands above the other four tracks with it’s urgent staccato guitar riff and catchy chorus. Vowels is melodic and haunting with a somewhat offputting disjointed middle eighth, Chow Chow has an intoxicating chorus and closer Ancient Bones is a gorgeous slow burner with it’s haunting refrain of “love me, love me no more”. For all it’s musical faults, and there are a few, something keeps me returning to this EP.

The quality of the songwriting is beyond reproach and this is what makes Faye such an exciting prospect. With some finesse on the production, in particular on the bass which rumbles away in a slightly disconcerting way throughout this EP, this could have been a perfect debut. Having said that the vocals on this debut are stunning, with lyrics that bely this bands tender years. This is a band who could be destined for great things and I want, make that need, to hear more by this promising trio.