The Fully Down - Don't Get Lost in a Movement

Some people make for better addicts than me; they have a limitless capacity for shooting up, often using the same vein, even after its long dried up. They call that commitment; I call it masochism—in any case, The Fully Down have a nice enthused and infused beat, but the way they jam that needle, only the most thick-skinned of rock addicts (the musical kind now) will survive. Even if I wanted to get lost in a movement—and one assumes the kind of people who would listen to riff-heavy up-tempo rock do—I can’t. With Don’t Get Lost in a Movement, The Fully Down only goes in one direction, up. There are shrill and dexterous passages, gnarled and gnarly bridges, and sweet yet ultimately snarky melodies that can’t help but bite the hand that feeds them. It’s quite on point but with a hammering over-punctuation (almost punk-tuation) that isn’t healthy. “Life in Motion” is a brief glimmer of potential, bringing to the foreground what is buried beneath the triad of guitars in other songs: A nice mélange of textured voices, a wide variety of tempos, some wicked guitar tricks (the stronger for their sparse appearance on this track), and an overarching melody that fits the aching, twisting lyrics. For the other tracks, you’ll have to wait for the lengthy interstitial verses, places where the mold is briefly broken before the full-scale retreat back into power chords. If only it were worth buying a CD simply for the backpedaling fury of those lightning notes . . . but it’s not. So don’t. Don’t get lost. [www.thefullydown.com]