(2021) Fine Place - This New Heaven  


Review:
Frankie Rose and Matthew Hord formed the duo Fine Place in order to explore different directions than any of their respective projects. Rose had already gone from playing in reverb-heavy garage rock bands like Crystal Stilts and Vivian Girls to making a series of lush, new wave-influenced albums on her own, and Hord had played in noisy lo-fi punk groups like Heavy Times and Running before joining Pop. 1280 as they started heading in a more synth-based direction. Fine Place’s debut is in the same ballpark as both artists’ later work, but it has a much more dystopian atmosphere, and it seems to bring out their experimental impulses more than their other releases. Haunting opener “I Can’t Shake It” layers Rose’s foggy vocals over disconcerting MRI-like beeps and lurching drum machine kicks and claps, immediately creating an air of uncertainty and trepidation. The album’s title track is a coldwave goth-pop gem, mingling eerie synths and ethereal guitars as Rose’s enchanting vocals float over rock-solid beats. “Cover Blind” is suave yet cautious, with Rose warning “just don’t fall asleep” over a creeping rhythm that brings to mind witch house stripped of the blown-out, gimmicky distortion. The relaxing electro beats and floating vocals of “Tending to Twenty” glide high up in the air, and the rippling synths and choral vocals of “It’s Your House” provide comfort and solace. The suspense returns with the erratic beats and stirring noises of “Tell Me a Second Time,” with solemn pianos and whimpering voices contributing to the song’s unsettling aura. The duo blow out the candles with a faithful cover of Belgian group Adult Fantasies’ 1989 darkwave lullaby “The Party Is Over.” Fine Place shift between soothing affirmations and fearsome undercurrents, never quite revealing what their true intentions are, but always beckoning your attention. — AMG





Track Listing:
1.I Can't Shake It 03:29
2.This New Heaven 04:58
3.Cover Blind 05:56
4.Tending To Twenty 04:29
5.It's Your House 04:17
6.Impressions Of Me 04:40
7.Tell Me A Second Time 03:43
8.The Party Is Over 03:34


Media Report:
Genre: dream-pop, synth-pop
Country: USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits