Singles

Fol Chen - The Idiot

Owain Paciuszko 10/06/2009

Rating: 3/5

New single from Californian wonky-pop outfit Fol Chen, released on Sufjan Stevens label Asthmatic Kitty. This is almost tongue-in-cheek disco-pop, throwing in harps and rising brass over its boy-girl vocals, but in a strangely under-stated fashion. It's like a creaky pop machine trying to bring together a host of elements to create a party track, but not quite getting there within the track's three minutes.

Aside from that though this is a pretty decent single, it's got the arch flair of 10,000 hz Legend-era Air but filtered through the pizzaz of early-Stevie Wonder being covered by The Lemonheads. Yes, it's an odd combination, but it seems designed - maybe a little too much so - to be catchy. It's all style and surface and lacking any real depth, but in a pretty good way. It's not going to cause any socks to get blown off, nor will it herald 'Next Big Thing' hollering, but it might turn a few heads and get some people dancing strangely at an 'indie disco'.