Posted on: December 24, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

“Long and Hard” starts off “Diary of a Stone Romantic”, and paints Ferona Vei as a band that follows the emo song that has taken over the world in the last few years, but also paints the band as an act that does not always fall into the slow and morose songs of their predecessors (The Early November, for example). The high-energy opening of “Long and Hard” will get individuals’ heads bobbing and their feet tapping, while still putting forward a sound that will find itself in the hearts of practically anyone who listens in to Ferona Vei. This can be emo, a typical song about a lost loved one, and still blow someone’s wig without a problem.

This is not directly influence by the sound of acts like Rise Against, but the speed and care in which Verona Fei craft their “Diary of a Stone Romantic” is similar to Tim’s latest band. The band does not slow in their second track, “Lament”. If anything, the band moves to a more crunchy song for this track. While the vocals of Noah do still have a major part in creating the overall sound of Ferona Vei during this track, there is no denying that the instrumentation puts up a major challenge to that dominant paradigm. Noah shifts eir vocal style slightly during “Chasin’ Doxies” to add a little more snottiness; this brings eir more in line with singers like those from Billy Talent and Marc Schultz, and adds another dimension to Ferona Vei during the crucial mid-point of the EP.

There is not a weak track to be found during this EP, which speaks volumes to their ability to craft music that can be expandable to an entire disc. The disc does slow down during “Take Me Away”, but the instrumentation does not settle down as a response to opening sedate stylings of Noah’s vocals. When the band adds the proper blunt force to the track, a dichotomy is created that shows Ferona Vei as a band that can create intricate as well as fun songs. The band rattles off 6 tracks in short orde, and does not seem to show even the slightest signs of exhaustion at the end of the disc. Just give the band a few months and they will rise from the bush leagues of college radio to be playing fifteen-twenty times a day on all of the popular radio stations.

Top Track: Take Me Away

Rating: 6.9/10

Ferona Vei – Diary of a Stone Romantic / 2006 Doughmain / 6 Tracks / http://www.feronavei.com / http://www.justrockpr.com / Reviewed 04 May 2006

[JMcQ]

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