The title of Fine China's new album may be a bit deceiving. After thoroughly digesting You Make Me Hate Music, I found that it helped me to develop a love of good music and only hate the cliché, pop/rock music that clutters the airwaves of popular radio. When the title is taken in that context, this latest composition from a band based on originality and using music as art, You Make Me Hate Music can be seen more as a commentary on what true music is and isn't.
Lead singer/guitarist Rob Withem admits to admiring and being strongly influenced by Joy Electric and Starflyer 59. These influences are quite easy to spot. The slower songs easily bring Starflyer 59 to mind, while the faster ones sound much like Joy Electric would with a full band instead of synthesizers. Even the vocals of Withem easily remind me of Joy E's Ronnie Martin. Starflyer 59's Jason Martin co-produced You Make Me Hate Music and it's easy to hear his touch to this album, one that should draw many comparisons to recent Starflyer 59 releases.
The sound of You Make Me Hate Music is much more guitar-driven than Fine China's first Tooth & Nail outing When the World Sings. Depending on the song, the guitar could be a softly-strummed acoustic ("Boo to the Freaks") or an electric with fuzzy distortion ("Don't Say Nothing"). Throughout the album, no matter what the tempo of the song, there is a strong orchestrated feeling to the music that works in holding this collection of songs together as a cohesive unit.
The lyrics on You Make Me Hate Music deal with issues of life that almost everyone will face at some point. The words refrain from shocking topics and even when they seem dark, the music is joyful enough to see hope no matter what the occasion. Some of the topics touched on in You Make Me Hate Music include friendship ("Hug Every Friend"), having very little money ("The Unsuccessful"), being critical of people ("Boo to the Freaks"), and the animosity of others ("The World Wants Me Dead"). The songs are rather serious but comforting in that they are easy to relate to and appreciate.
Fine China has striven to make a quality album for lovers of fine music, and certainly succeeded. For those of you who couldn't get enough of Starflyer's Leave Here a Stranger last year, You Make Me Hate Music could spend a lot of time in your CD player. I know it will find a home in mine.
4 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis August 2002Reviewed by Matt ModrichFine China plays beautiful Brit pop straight out of Phoenix, Arizona. Their second release on Tooth and Nail is entitled "You Make Me Hate Music." Fine China's first album "When the World Sings" seemed to have a strong electronic influence due to the production of Ronnie Martin. But with Jason Martin at the helm on "You Make Me Hate Music" the Starflyer 59 comparisons have begun. As for other…Art for the Ears 2002Reviewed by Marco PovervestDreamy acoustic rock with modest vocals. That defines Fine China on their upcoming album You Make Me Hate Music. It's music in the vein of Starflyer 59 but not as nostalgic. Sometimes it reminds me of eighties rock bands like The Cure but Fine China is not at all dark. The basis of the music is the strumming of the guitar adorned by keyboards/organ while sometimes an electric guitar weeps along.…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Kerry MaffeoIn the realm of garage bands, some make it out of the garage and into the studio while others remain behind, playing to groupies. Tooth and Nail has historically pulled little known bands with a large local following and thrust them into the national spotlight. Some of these bands have been really good -- some of them have not. Fine China is not one of these bands. While production lifts this…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Dr. Bruce L. ThiessenFacing a Bull In Fine China All too often a critic will act like a bull in a china shop, recklessly tearing up everything in harm's way. Yet on the other hand, to borrow an album title from 70s Canadian rock band, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, a good band is "Not Fragile." A good band must be prepared to take on any bull, just like the one that recently trampled Lyle Lovett, as he was heroically…Similar sounding releases
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