A student band, Furious George, has risen into Paly’s music scene with a new album that takes on a soothing feel. The band’s first widely-distributed CD sets the sound for the band and a promising future.
The music, which is primarily written by the members of the band, sets a high bar for high school bands, especially considering that the band recorded the album in a garage. The synchronization of vocals and instrumentals shows not only talent but also impressive musical ability. The music falls under the rock or alternative genre. Every song on the album comes from the bands’ insights into love.
Furious George, composed of junior lead singer Shawn Barry, junior guitarist Jenner Fox, senior drummer Conor Kelly, and sophomore guitarist and bassist Andrew Hedge, plays a series of original songs that incorporate meaningful lyrics with complementing sounds. In addition, Barry, Kelly, and Hedge provide excellent vocals, a welcome rarity among high school bands.
In the album’s first song, “Ultimate Breakup Song,” Barry suggests that, after an unwanted breakup, he can be freed, ready to prove to the world he is something and that “I’m here so check me out.” The band’s combination of simple beats turns into a complicated mix that is pleasing to the ear.
Barry says that his favorite tracks are “Fish Upon a Star Part One” and “Fish Upon a Star Part Two.” Both tracks set the sound for the band and bring out the best aspects of the album, original lyrics and coordination of percussion, bass, and guitar without one overriding the others.
In “Fingers Crossed,” the band shows off its talents in both simple acoustics and commendable song writing. Barry’s vocals come through clear and crisp, hitting each note.
In “Hattie’s Song,” Furious George opens with a promising guitar intro, but then loses its flare with a repetitive beat. However, a bonus to the track is the creative song writing that Fox uses to depict his feelings throughout the song: “It’s no surprise as I look in your eyes that my mind and my mouth forgot to coincide … and every hello overshadows goodbye and the moment between turned to memory in your eye.”
“Specks” brings a more mainstream sound to the album by relying mostly on chord progressions but keeps to the band’s sound in breaks in the melody.
“Thinking Out Loud” opens with a unique percussion beat followed by a soothing opening by Barry who expresses his feelings and fears of putting his heart on the line.
The band also does excellent covers of Thom Yorke’s “Atoms for Peace” and Radiohead’s “All I Need.” The substantial work that went into making the covers mimic the originals is commendable.
Barry, who wrote the majority of the songs, said that he enjoyed the entire process of producing the tape, and that it was “always fun to record.”
Though the band currently has no scheduled performances, Furious George hopes to get some gigs on the Paly quad this year and expand its horizons.
Sound clips are reproduced with the permission of the band members