literature

Catholic Guilt, by All Human.

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All Human is a solo project by Adam Fisher, known vocalist/guitarist from one of my favorite bands growing up as a kid, Fear Before the March of Flames. They were such a free-minded group of musicians, releasing albums that were so much different from another musically. Their last three albums basically molded my tastes along with other bands that would take forever to name. After about two or three years after their 2008 album, Fear Before, the band went on a hiatus, which a hard blow to my musical library. Adam, for the most part, has been releasing and taking place in albums here and there since the bands break, such as doing vocals and guitar in the debut from the progressive rock supergroup Orbs, or just random vocal appearances in other albums.

Now, Fisher has taken then time and finally released an all new solo album, Catholic Guilt or the Queerest of Thoughts, and to be honest, I wasn't that excited for it until the first single was dropped off of it a few months ago, 'We're Alive and Well', which featured a simple guitar chord progression that was had this effect as it were recorded, then rerecorded through a answering machine, with Fisher crooning softly in the mix. The track began to pick up slowly with quirky synths and a busy mix of drums and glitching sounds. It was then that I was looking forward to this release.

Now it's here, and it's really something else. To be blunt, this is not a pretty album... conceptually. It has a very polarizing and contradictory feeling to it, as the music being played is played in the middle ground of sounding very hopeful and uplifting at times, but the lyrics are what make this album dark. Fisher has always been one of my favorite wordsmiths, and in this album, he sings of guilt taking hold of a persons life until the point of not being able to move forward, of alcoholism, of loneliness, of leaving everything behind that was easy and familiar.

With every listen to this album, I'm finding something new to love about it. I can relate to this, but to be honest, anyone can relate somehow to a track on this album. I love how when Adam is in a group, his efforts are to be loud, and to be heard by all, but with this album, it's like his home away from home, as the sounds of this album can be very smooth and soothing.

Aside from 'We're Alive and Well', another favorite track of mine is 'Utah'. It starts of with this vocal piece that echos incoherently, seguing into a simple drum beat with a even simpler synth pattern playing over it while Adam sings. As the song progresses, more sounds and and effects are introduced into the mix, and right at the climax through halfway point, the song picks up, but only for a moment to bring you back into this soundscape.

My only gripe with this album is the final track 'Let Me Be Your Daughter'. It's a six minute beast of an instrumental, which is what I wish bands or musicians would decide to keep from closing their albums out. The track is nothing but 80's new wave synths and pianos playing a chord progession over and over until the song ends, with a little be of variant here and there. I liked the track somewhat, I just didn't wish it ended such a great album.

In retrospect, if you're looking for an album to challenge you, you won't find it here. You'll find something that's more easy on the ears than what Fisher has done before, and it's not a bad debut at all.
Final verdict: 8/10

Did you like this album? What were your thoughts listening to this? And what would you like to see reviewed in the future in the comments below?
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