{"id":14746,"date":"2015-10-21T15:07:27","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T14:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=14746"},"modified":"2015-10-21T17:02:36","modified_gmt":"2015-10-21T16:02:36","slug":"fact-or-fiction-fictonian-examines-the-truth-of-desire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2015\/10\/fact-or-fiction-fictonian-examines-the-truth-of-desire\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT OR FICTION? \u2013 Fictonian Examines The Truth Of Desire"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"QqQQ4GoT-QvA2qYHQKdDbztZsH52S81bv5QKyyPeOoU\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Having first encountered Fictonian\u00a0via \u2018social experiment\u2019 <\/strong>I\u2019d Like To Be, <\/strong><\/em>I must confess to approaching this review with some trepidation.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A series of vox pops set to tape loops, over some admittedly dazzling animation from collaborator Alden Volney, <\/strong>I\u2019d Like To Be <\/em>initially left me cold.<\/p>\n

Out of context, it seemed like an experiment that had not achieved the desired results.<\/p>\n

However, having now had the opportunity to listen to new album Desire Lines <\/strong><\/em>and become fully immersed in Fictonian-world, I have to say I\u2019ve been completely won over.<\/p>\n

The product of the imagination of multi-instrumentalist Glen Roberts, <\/strong>this is an album that\u2019s wonderfully difficult to pigeonhole.<\/p>\n

Sounding both vintage and modern, it could have been recorded at any time over the last 40 years.<\/p>\n

Occasionally reminiscent of the wistful psychedelia of The Kinks<\/strong> or The Small Faces, <\/strong>at other times it reminded me of the sly, lilting melodies of The Lilac Time <\/strong>or early Aztec Camera<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Yet none of these comparisons are fair or apposite, because this is an artist who creates and inhabits his own universe.<\/p>\n

His songs are multi-layered and dreamlike – hazy, partially-remembered stories or snapshots from an unreliable narrator.<\/p>\n

There are barbs too between the enticing sensual guitar and piano melodies, Roberts employing fairground organs to hint at the nightmare beneath the bucolic mood.<\/p>\n

The video to latest single\u00a0Mrs Jones\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(see below) is a kind of metaphor for the whole album, a beguiling maze where nothing is quite as it seems and a wrong turn could lead to disaster.<\/p>\n

In a rare comment about his methods, Roberts says he engages a particular mindset or \u2018Fictonian state\u2019, when working on new material and he invites his audience to do the same.<\/p>\n

Once you become absorbed in Fictonian-world, even experiments like I\u2019d Like To Be <\/em>start to make sense.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in the mood to dive in, I\u2019d strongly recommend a visit to the Fictonian website http:\/\/www.fictonian.com\/home\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An astounding debut, from one of the most original artists I\u2019ve come across in a long time, Desire Lines<\/strong><\/em> is out on November 13, though Distiller Records.<\/strong><\/p>\n