Fake Problems – “Real Ghosts Caught on Tape”
One Side Dummy
out now!
3 / 5
Pure adrenaline pop/rock is the order of the day when it comes to the Naples, FL indie outfit Fake Problems. Perhaps some of the best direct comparisons would be the bands Fun., the Gaslight Anthem (downtempo, without echo on the vocals) and perhaps Motion City Soundtrack (without the extreme sugar rush), and that does fine with us; it’s that opener, “ADT,” that pulls us in. Then why the long face? Well, (thanks for asking), it’s that Fake Problems doesn’t present particularly fresh material. Scrabbled together from a handful of catchy guitar licks, a few cliches (“Hold out your weary hand,” “When you think it can’t get any worse”) and some familiar-sounding songs (the opening guitar riff and backup vocals to “Soulless”), “Real Ghosts” doesn’t have enough substance to haunt everyone’s CD collection. But there’s enough energy and drive here to recommend it for the pop enthusiast.
Listen to “Soulless”: www.myspace.com/453173424