Fitz and The Tantrums - Fitz and The Tantrums Michael Fitzpatrick

Fitz and The Tantrums
Fitz and The Tantrums
2016
Spotify

Fitz and The Tantrums have always had a eye towards the past with all their music. In the early days it was a nod to the R&B of the 50s and 60s, then it jumped to the 80s for their debut, and now with this self titled releases it is in some foreign zone where it is almost impossible to figure out what is going on. At the heart of every Fitz and The Tantrums song however is the dance-pop aesthetic. Their goal is to get you out on the floor and get those hips moving, and quite often they are successful. However much like the biggest room EDM, Fitz and The Tantrums feels more like a paint by numbers record than anything else. Gone is that endearing old school style and in it's place is some really basic stuff. "Burn It Down" is supposed to be this emotionally charged anthem, but the drum machines and synths give it this utterly pedestrian sound. The band feels like they are stuck in a scene that has long passed them by and this is an attempt to make a grab at some of those folks who have walked away. You cannot shake the sense that someone put this record into a focus group and took everyone's opinion, put them in a blender and this is the result. That means you get songs that are moderately catchy, yet lack any kind of depth what so ever. You are looking into the eyes of this record and all you see is blackness.

"HandClap" perhaps the best song on the album comes at the beginning and the slow slide into obscurity goes from there. Perhaps the most egregious song is "Tricky", which is some strange amalgamation of Pop, Electronic, Hip-Hop and R&B. The song never gets footing and is built on this shifting foundation that does not have a sense of itself. The female vocals from Noelle Scaggs takes a backseat for most of the album instead using Michael Fitzpatrick auto-tuned more than Kanye. "Fadeback" is almost a shot for shot remake of Hall and Oats' "Maneater" and is one of the few tracks on the album that directly imitates the sound of 80s top 40. Even a song like "Maneater" which is not good, but at least has a point of view, these tracks are just vapid pop. There are so many moments where for a second you get your head nodding, but you soon realize what in the fuck am I actually listening to. Fitz and The Tantrums is both nostalgic and modern at the same time, but in the worst way. It's like holding up a picture of teased hair and neon wristband and saying "Hey look guys, the 80s!" and expecting people to just go along with it. Don't be confused by the imitation, and just go and listen to the actual hits from the 80s, you'll be happy you skipped this one.

3.0 out of 10