The Fat Tones – Fat At You (CD)

From people aged 5 to 80, you can not believe how much praise I had already heard about this EP even before I was given a copy by Danny Boyer, a member of the band. Not having any contact information or a tracklist, it was sheer luck that I saw Danny at another local show, so if you happen to see any errors, they are all his problems. Seriously. “Full Service” begins the CDR, and it has the oddest time signatures of pretty much any disc that I’ve been lucky enough to hear, but the typical bopping horn section necessary for a ska act. The chorus of “Full Service” almost acts as a Transplants-style rap, with enough speaking to make individuals think the band members are rapping, but enough harmony to make people wonder. “Dancing In The Night” is a virtual clone of “Full Service”, with only slight shuffling of the horn part and the addition of a more brash style of guitar work. While I understand that this disc was produced with the most love and quality that the act could come up with, some issues still arise with the recording. First off, the guitars are at a level that are almost unheard, and the quality of the vocals really depend on the song. For example, the more screamed out/powerful vocals in “Cause I’m Fat” sound more presentable, and less tinny, than in either “Full Service” or “Dancing in the Night”.

“Double “O” Nothing” moves back to having the slightly-shuffled typical horn line at times, but does add a few important equations to the mix : the tweaked-out bass line and a horn solo that is eerily reminiscent of the goof-off psuedo-cover of “Earth Angel” at the beginning of the mix. By far, The Fat Tones save the best of the disc for last, in “Transvestite Land”. “Transvestite Land” is the most coherent song of the mix, sounding like a mixture of two fallen local bands, Have You Seen Lucky? and Caffeine Dependent. A radio single, if I had ever heard one. If The Fat Tones continue with the direction they were going in “Transvestite Land”, there could be no limit for how talented or famous they could be.

Top Tracks : “Double “O” Nothing” –and- “Transvestite Land”

Rating : 6.2/10

The Fat Tones – Fat At You / 5 Tracks / 2003 Self-Released / Reviewed : 21 July 2003