Farrington: Pictures of Pretty Things Review
By: Madeline Milton
Tags: Music, Review, Indie, Rock, Album Review

Pictures of Pretty Things, Farrington’s debut album, is an interesting topic of discussion, but it is in no way perfect. The Long Beach-based power pop group (moniker of singer-songwriter James Patrick), takes influences from the 70s, including Elton John and Queen. On Pictures of Pretty Things, we can also get some vibes from bands like Elastica and maybe even a bit of The Dead Weather.

The album starts right off the bat with powerful chord progressions and instrumental performances. The first two songs follow this heavy style before turning mellow for the remaining 12 tracks. The keyboards and the retro vocals take up the strongest and most memorable parts of the record. Songs like “Hey Mr. Rock n’ Roll,” “Stupid Plastic War,” and “Violins” are dripping with 70s vibes and they bring us back to the days of the 60s’ countercultural movement.

Pictures of Pretty Things is a great taste of the potential that Farrington has to become. And I repeat: it is a taste of his potential. It’s hard to find something wrong with this album, and for the most part, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with it. However, while the songs are enjoyable and replayable, they don’t manage to stick themselves in my mind enough for me to remember that they exist. No song on this record stands out as bad, but they all seem more like samples or demos than final products. And it was at this point that I realized what was missing: a bridge.

The bridge of a song is always the best part of a song because it adds spice and suspense to the song. It is the climax of the story, and while it is not necessarily mandatory, it delivers the final punchline of the song. It is the flipside of the ideals shared or the time to reflect or dive in deep to the metaphors and visuals presented.

A few of the songs on this record work perfectly well without a bridge, including the instrumental tracks, “Daybreaker,” “Stupid Plastic War,” and “Blue,” which might be regarded as the best song on the album. But the others lack a conclusion or final thought to make them stick. Only so many songs can end with the title repeated until it fades out before the rinsed-and-repeated formula becomes tedious (“Hey Mr. Rock n’ Roll” and “When I Was You” for example).

Maybe another issue with this album is that most of the tracks are too short to make a statement. Intentional or not, it leaves listeners begging for more content, and not particularly in a good way. “Maybe If You Leave Her” starts off with a bang, with the oos and chill chorus introducing it before the more rhythmic verse. But after that first verse, we are only given one other new piece of information: “She’s never fallen in love.” The guitar solo on this song and many others are phenomenal, but as with this track, that is all we get. Chorus, short verse, extra line, guitar solo, repeat chorus. That’s it? That’s all we get? What would happen if you left her? Where’s the emotion? What’s the point?

Despite this, I would expect great things from Farrington. Most of these tracks last only two minutes, and I predict that if they were longer, we would see more interesting twists. Disregarding the lack of punchlines, the sound of the record is a pleasant and worthwhile experience. For its length, the album stands as something to at least pay attention to.

Overall Rating: 6.7/10