The young Detroit quartet Fawn is one of those obscure bands that your older sibling knows about and is willing to play around you from time to time, and with each subsequent spin you find yourself more and more intrigued. Possessing a penchant for pop punk sensibilities and emotive melodies, the band has some serious lineage in the indie rock world, with members having formerly been in Thundering Are Now!, Von Blondies, Javelins, Child Bite, and Those Transatlantics.
An outfit born out of heartbreak, Fawn found their inception rooted in Alicia Gbur and Christian Doble’s way of coping by parlaying turmoil into creative song craft. Making good use out of boy/girl harmonies, memorable riffage, and some punk inspired energy, Coastlines is fun and clever, yet also a very thoughtful listen made up of carefully constructed rock/pop/indie gems.
Coastlines starts off with “All The Lights,” a rowdy, fiery rocker with roaring guitars and pleading vocals. Later things become less intense, but don’t lose any impact; in particular, “No Wave” brings out the oh’s and ah’s with some charming punk melodica.“The Forest” illustrates their more refined moments, and it is a song of truly beautiful sounds, though they certainly work well with louder moments like “Suicide” which harkens back to ’90s alt-rock thundering. On “It’s Never Over,” they pair catchy basslines with instantly memorable choruses right off the bat, resulting in one of the best moments on an album with plenty of highlights.
From noisy and reverb heavy to tuneful and far simpler, this is a listen that encapsulates a timeless guitar crunch and rock ‘n’ roll fervor. Though I wouldn’t say they necessarily sound like them, I was reminded of both The Cure and The Pixies in these tracks, yet delivered with a more modern, youthful enthusiasm. With the minor use of synth in addition to the usual suspects and tempos and structures that are always alternating, this is a great half an hour with one of the most promising rising indie bands today.
