Republic
2007
Fables From A Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True
About This Album
With multi-genre crossovers currently all the rage in the rock and alternative scenes, critics are left to fumble desperately about for labels. Fair to Midland make it tougher than most: neo-prog or prog-core anyone? In any event, after two self-released albums, the Texan cult heroes renowned for their explosive live shows signed to the Serjical Strike label, run by System of a Down's Serj Tankian, a band that Fair occasionally tries to emulate, and cemented the deal with 2006's The Drawn and Quartered EP. Demo versions of "Kyla Cries Cologne" and "A Seafarer's Knot" were featured on that disc but appear on the group's stunning full-length Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True in all their glory. Producer David Bottrill gives the band a well-deserved epic sound, reminiscent of the '70s with a big, clean style that highlights the group's virtuosity and their amazing dynamics. Those dynamics come instantly into play on the set's opening number and first single, "Dance of the Manatee," as the group shift from U2-ish swelling, chiming, guitar passages into thundering hard rock. Singer Darroh Suddereth follows suit, careening between alt rock to classic rock vocals, then down into the menacing growl of metalcore.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,4,5 and 6)

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