Found - Factorycraft

Found - Factorycraft
Genre: Indie/Alternative
Rating: 5.5/10

Found are the sort of band that music critics love and nobody has heard of.  Factorycraft is the bands third LP  and first effort on notoriously prestigious scottish label Chemikal Underground. Chemikal Underground has long been at the forefront of independent scottish music helping make the careers of  huge acts like Mogwai, Arab Strap and personal faves Aereogramme. The move also see's Found reach a bigger audience than ever before possible as their previous releases were released on much smaller labels. Factorycraft has been championed as a brilliant record by many in the music press winning plaudits left right and centre whilst the band have maintained little to no commercial exposure.

The bands sound is similar to many acts out there at the moment as they produce the kind of quirky artistic indie that many might compare to bands like The Animal Collective or The Flaming Lips. The vocals are clean and very reminiscent of Chemikal Undergrounds now sadly defunct De Rosa with scottish accents layered on thick. Musically the band are fairly minimalist rather than  going too far out of the way to seem quirky their use of odd sound effects and synths is subtle and enjoyable. The guitar ranges from tune to tune but throughout the album see's them dabble on occasion with shoe gaze to varying degrees of success. So why if all these elements blend so well have I only given this album a 5.5 I hear you ask. The answer to this is indeed a simple one. Oversaturation of the market. Whilst Found prove competent at their style of quirky indie there is very little here on offer that is new. It's not all bad though asthere are quite a few great tracks on show here. For example the single "Machine Age Dancing" which see's the band start with a simple Jesus and Mary Chain style thumping intro before mixing in some distorted guitar and elctronic beats which segways into a beautiful soaring chorus. Other highlights include "Anti-climb Paint" a jagged indie rock gem which see's the band use some frantic and angular guitar work. The main downfall of this album is that the great tracks are few and far between and they only serve to point out the rather dull and drearier tunes flaws "Blackette" and "You're No Vincent Gallo" for example provide little to nothing but padding.

Overall Factorycraft equals out as an ok album. Whilst some of the tracks seem to suggest a wealth of untapped potential other parts of the record fall short of delivering anything new or interesting. The problems with this record are however inherent to the sort of experimental bands of the genre so it would not be fair to write off the band completely. My advice would be to sample the album online before reaching into your pocket to avoid disappointment.

Download: "Machine Age Dancing" "Anti-Climb Paint"