Fairweather - Lusitania

The Virginia underground music scene isn’t the strongest on the East Coast by any means, but it is ever-growing. Although Fairweather’s home is at least five hours from mine, I’m still proud to say that we’re both part of the commonwealth. 2001’s Equal Vision debut, If They Move… Kill Them, solidified a national fanbase, simultaneously garnering a lot of Through Being Cool-era Saves the Day comparisons. Last year’s EP, Alaska, showed a deep development in the band’s sound, and set high expectations for Lusitania. For the second time, Fairweather teamed up with producer J. Robbins, running the boards at the renowned Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA. Upon initial listening, it’s obvious that Fairweather has started to experiment more, and the songs aren’t as straight-forward as the band showed in the past. “Derivative Opener” is exactly what the name states. The title track was very impressive when I saw the band play it live, but now that I’ve given it a few more listens, “Lusitania” has its moments, but the daunting length of the song allows you to lose your focus. Honestly, this song wasn’t the only track in which I felt a yawn coming on. “Letter of Intent” kicks off with some of the familiar Fairweather energy, and the handclaps are a welcome addition. “The Treachery of Images” is a worthy cut, but nearly the last minute of the song gives you the idea that something big is going to happen — of course, the song just stops and kicks into the next track. “I Dread The Time When Your Mouth Begins To Call Me Hunter” is one of the more relaxed, and thankfully, shorter songs on Lusitania. Despite the well-penned lyrics, “We look for ghosts and that’s what we find / Will we bury who we loved or is the ground too cold to break?” the music itself just plods through its 3-minute, 47-second duration. And yes, it isone of the shorter songs. “Silent Jury” and “Mercer Island” are fair, but show nothing special. “Slow to Standing” is one of the disc’s finer moments, but still not up to the standards this band set in the past. “1195” is yet another boring instrumental track. And, by this point, it's basically screaming, "What’s the point?!" This is forgivable, though, once “Concrete Atlas” kicks in, which is one of the album’s highlights, as is “Burn Bridges, Keep Warm”, and then “Alaska” is definitely where Lusitania climaxes. Finally, “The Culling Song” tops the disc off with 10-plus minutes of gloom and the a cello adds nicely to the somberness. So, there you go, the whole album in a paragraph. Fairweather is a talented band, but Lusitania comes across as uninteresting. I'd argue most attention spans wouldn't endure this album. While, Fairweather has definitely matured, that maturity has taken a toll on the band's flair and their captivating energy is, hopefully, hibernating. In the end, the album is for the diehard fans, as the rest of us can wait for something else to sink our teeth into. [www.fairweatherva.com]