{"id":66257,"date":"2018-02-18T00:01:28","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T00:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=66257"},"modified":"2018-02-18T14:33:46","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T14:33:46","slug":"album-review-fm-atomic-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-fm-atomic-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"FM – Atomic Generation (2018) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

FM
Atomic Generation<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nFrontiers (2018)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cDon\u2019t waste time tryin\u2019 to be something you\u2019re not\u201d<\/em> beams Steve Overland as he muses his way through \u2018Make The Best Of What You Got\u2019 from FM\u2019s latest rewarding slab, Atomic Generation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Strangely, I\u2019m getting a bluesy and also Mr Big vibe from this steady, breezy rocker as Overland, almost out of character, speaks of \u201cSee the bitches in the magazines, rock stars and movie queens\u201d<\/em> over a driving riff and steady drum nod. It\u2019s a nice, commercial, and overly warm slice of FM at their deftest.<\/p>\n

\u201cFast women and limousines\u201d<\/em> is the sort of lyric that wouldn\u2019t seem out of place on a ZZ Top record, but it\u2019s also not too far removed from Bad English\u2019s 1989 number \u2018Best Of What I Got\u2019. I guess that just shows how that era still sits strong within the souls of FM, a band that has been celebrating over three decades in the music business.<\/p>\n

So, \u2018Make The Best Of What You Got\u2019 is a fun and easy song to take in, and as a lead single of sorts it might be an ideal way to draw in the masses. However, Atomic Generation<\/em> \u2013 the band\u2019s 11th opus \u2013 has far stronger ingredients to offer.<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018Black Magic\u2019, for instance, has already become one of my favourite tracks this year; a solid thumping drum and almost quirky guitar fizz give way to an infectious gang chant before Overland\u2019s soulful croon comes blazing in. And it\u2019s that gang chant which sticks, even as the album progresses. \u201cSucks me in\u201d<\/em> the singer smirks \u2013 indeed it does \u2013 and I\u2019m already under spell of this funky, struttin\u2019 rocker built upon a foundation of Pete Jupp\u2019s steady drum plod and Merv Goldsworthy\u2019s bass backbone. It\u2019s the killer start to a record I\u2019ve been anticipating \u2013 the guitars fizzing and providing extra earthiness when required \u2013 and I\u2019m pleased to say this continues.<\/p>\n

\u2018Too Much Of A Good Thing\u2019 is a typical 80s rocker, evoking images of neon lights and condensation running down the window pane of another sweaty night. \u201cThere\u2019s a fire deep inside of me\u201d<\/em> Overland narrates us as we\u2019re transported to an era of Miami Vice<\/em>, foggy streets, littered trash cans and humid summers. Sure, it\u2019s a tad Americanised, but it\u2019s also timeless as the drum nods like an ever-present heartbeat which in turn flicker the lights of the stereo as Jim Kirkpatrick\u2019s guitar sizzles one more time. Damn, if I still had the same curls as I did in the 80s I\u2019d be flicking them back in awe of this mid-tempo foot-tapper.<\/p>\n

The bubble-gum rock of \u2018Killed By Love\u2019 is another deeply contagious cool \u2018n\u2019 sassy nodder, and just when you thought you\u2019d heard all this stuff in the 80s the FM boys come up with another infectious chorus that soars like the wind. Steve Overland\u2019s gorgeous call just drifts on the breeze of the guitar, bass and drum which work in melodious tandem to add extra freshness and reflection to this pompous chunk of joy.<\/p>\n

And wow, do they keep coming. \u2018In It For The Money\u2019 bursts in with a bluesy strut, but this time there\u2019s an extra weight, not just to the riffage which rolls deep and hard, but to Jem Davis\u2019 keyboards too which add extra beef. It\u2019s one of the heaviest tracks on offer and yet again makes way for a cool chorus.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, \u2018Golden Days\u2019 comes in at the other end of the spectrum. Another sweaty, summery AOR haze of trickling guitar and pensive drum taps. It\u2019s gloriously reflective; \u201cI wanna go back to those golden days… all those summer days and nights, they were the best I ever had\u201d<\/em>. Boy, if Bryan Adams was crooning this we\u2019d be cringing, but with FM there\u2019s an authenticity, a genuine nod to a past we all cherish and at times have a thirst for. \u201cTime keeps passing,\u201d<\/em> Overland thoughtfully remarks. \u201cI wanna feel that way again\u201d<\/em>. And we do, thanks to songs like this.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s far more of course to the FM cannon than nostalgia. \u2018Playing Tricks Of Me\u2019 hints at Santana with its licks. Indeed, there\u2019s very much a Latin vibe here, evoking images of sweaty dancefloors, although I\u2019m not sure if to do the rumba, the samba, the salsa or cha-cha-cha, such is my limited knowledge of such expression. But it\u2019s another solid track where the guitar is the star, although for the rockers out there it might be just a little too much off the path, and in a sense it doesn\u2019t exactly fit the album.<\/p>\n

However, do not fear, there\u2019s more sturdiness to come with the likes of melodic rocker \u2018Follow Your Heart\u2019 and the excellent \u2018Stronger\u2019 with its fiery barrage of lead and riff. Meanwhile, the subtle sides are explored with \u2018Do You Love Me Enough\u2019, a lovely ballad of acoustic sways that erupts into a joyous chorus, and closer \u2018Love Is The Law\u2019 continues that soulful thread, trickling sensually with those shimmering cymbals and Steve Overland\u2019s aching voice. \u201cWe all need someone to hold\u201d<\/em> he cries, and we all need a band to keep on telling us that.<\/p>\n

FM provides us with the soul, the fire and the joy to enable us to not only reflect on the happiness of the past, but to look forward to a brighter future. Atomic Generation is the soundtrack of several generations; a successful fusing of all that we love about rock\u2018n\u2019roll.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FMAtomic Generation Frontiers (2018)Rating: 9\/10 \u201cDon\u2019t waste time tryin\u2019 to be something you\u2019re not\u201d beams Steve Overland as he muses his way through \u2018Make The Best Of What You Got\u2019 from FM\u2019s latest rewarding slab, Atomic Generation. Strangely, I\u2019m getting a bluesy and also Mr Big vibe from this steady, breezy rocker as Overland, almost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1805],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-fm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66257"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66266,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66257\/revisions\/66266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}