Artist vs. Poet – Favorite Fix CD Review

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Posted March 2nd by Tyler Hoppel in All, Music, Music Reviews

Artist vs. Poet – Favorite Fix CD Review
By: Tyler Hoppel

Forming a semi-generic, yet appealing sound, and having a bit of luck was all it took for this Texas based pop punk band to get signed. (Artist vs. Poet signed to an indie label called Fearless Records). Soon after signing came a few EP’s, that paved the way for their debut full-length Favorite Fix. Artist Vs. Poet couldn’t possibly fit the Fearless signing pattern of energetic poppy rock bands any better. Favorite Fix was recorded with multiple producers including Zack Odom, Kenneth Mount (All Time Low, Mayday Parade, Cartel) and Mike Green (Paramore, Breathe Carolina). The result is a clear pop rock record with all the bells and whistles.

Giving Artist vs. Poet the benefit of the doubt and a closer, fair look into the album’s contents should probably be given to make sure some hidden treasure don’t lie in wait. At the heart of Artist Vs. Poet rests pretty typical pop punk melodies. Yea, I mean they add crunchy effects to their guitars, sample beats and eccentric lyrics that keep your headphones in your ears. But if you take away all off that, all that lies, is a simple pop rock that I used to play when I was in a shitty band in high school. I guess what Im saying is, without the big name producers this record wouldn’t have any substance.

I knew I was in for a let down as soon as the opening track “Car Crash” kicks off with vocals singing, “bah dah dah dah dah, dah dah, dah dah dah”, followed by some “oohs” and “ahhs” in the chorus. That, in a nut­shell, is the foundation of the band’s sound, with slight deviations along the way to keep the self-plagiarism at an almost bearable level. “Adorable” and the title track “Favorite Fix” are all bland and boring. The track “We’re All The Same” starts off sounding like a Postal Service rip-off (looks like someone else is trying to bank off of that genre). Ballads seem to be this band’s strongest suit; “Miserably Loving You” and “Alive” make up for the frequent clichés in their lyrical subjects by honing their melodies and harmonies. The prior two songs features a skillful buildup and release of near epic proportions. “Giving Yourself Away” may be the best song off Favorite Fix, but it may be little to late to save this record. These three tracks aside; “Miserably Loving You”, “Alive” and “Giving Yourself Away” Favorite Fix fails to impress and joins the ever building stack of bands trying too hard to do what another bands have done that preceded them. In some sort of irony vocalist Tarcy Thompson ends the record by singing “how do we cope with things we hate”.

Favorite Fix stand-out tracks – “Miserably Loving You”, “Alive” and “Giving Yourself Away”

Favorite Fix track-listing -

01. Car Crash
02. Adorable
03. Favorite Fix
04. Unconscious Reality
05. Damn Rough Night
06. We’re all The Same
07. So Much I never Said
08. Miserably Loving You
09. Broke But Not Broken
10. He’s Just Not Me
11. Alive
12. Giving Yourself Away

Score: 2/5

Similar To: Forever The Sickest Kids, The Friday Night Boys, Sing It Loud

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/artistvspoet
Purevolume: http://www.purevolume.com/artistvspoet

Post Author: Tyler Hoppel

Tyler resides in Virginia Beach, VA and enjoys discovering new music, playing soccer and traveling. Follow me on twitter @tylerredemption


  • Freddie Alternative

    Hey Tyler. Speaking of Giving Yourself Away, you gave yourself away early on when you said you played in a “shitty band in high school”. It's obvious that you resent the success of a group of talented young men, who were “lucky” enough to be signed and have the support of a good record label and the team 0f professionals that have helped them succeed. If you knew what you were doing, you would research these young men. They've worked very hard, for little or no reward, to try to achieve their collective dreams. There's some real musical talent there that would probably surprise you, ie. classical training, and major music school education. But it's alot easier to write them off as lucky, or even worse. I'm sure that's why your shitty high school band never made it, because you weren't as luck as these guys. Take your pseudo-intellectual opinion elsewhere. Let's see how the album sells. Of course that wouldn't prove anything either, would it, since most consumers of music aren't nearly as knowledgeble as you. Enjoy your soccer, and good travels to you. I've got your number.

  • http://twitter.com/tylerhoppel Tyler Hoppel

    Freddie, Thanks for leaving a comment man. You must have missed the portion of the sentence when I said “used to play when I was in a….”. I wouldn't even call it a band either, it was some of my friends and I trying to play New Found Glory and Blink-182 songs. I will emphasize on the “trying” part. It was fun, something to do on rainy days when we couldn't go skateboarding. I graduated high school in 2003, why would I be bitter to a band who was trying to make it now? So how do I “resent” their success? They obviously are doing something right, but might be their emo haircuts or their expensive producers they use on their records. My job was to review “Favorite Fix”, I never said that they didn't work as hard as other bands to get to where they are today. I've been on tour with an unsigned band, so I know what it's like to be at the bottom of the bottom. I know what it's like to be in a van with 6 other sweaty dudes, so you don't tell me that I haven't done my research when I have been in the trenches for the last year of my life. I'm sure Artist vs. Poet are some hardworking guys, that I am not arguing. I reviewed their latest record, not their work ethic. Thanks.

  • Kayla

    I pretty much agree with this review, its sort of sad actually. I was IN LOVE with their Artist Vs. Poet EP, I played it so much in the summer. The music was overall… better. There were less gimmicks, and annoying electronic sounding crap. They sound so generic, the vocals sound pretty much sound exactly like Jonathan Cook from FTSK. I like FTSK and all, but I don't need two of them. I don't know why, but the vocals on the EP were much better This record is a big letdown honestly, it was forgettable. I can only hope that they will go back to their original sound and drop this generic emo pop-punk stuff.

  • khernan05

    if you like: Metro Station, Cobra Starship, Mercy Mercedes, Artist vs Poet, Let's Get It, The Friday Night Boys, etc…check out YOUNG & DIVINEthey will be at CHAIN REACTION on April 4thGet their EP: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/young-divine-e...

  • khernan05

    if you like: Metro Station, Cobra Starship, Mercy Mercedes, Artist vs Poet, Let's Get It, The Friday Night Boys, etc…check out YOUNG & DIVINEthey will be at CHAIN REACTION on April 4thGet their EP: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/young-divine-e...

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