Reviews of FAIRMONT's 4th LP "Wait & Hope" GFB Records

"rocking, paranoid, i love it, the video gives me the creeps for a minute there, but great ending. anyway, right on in my book"
- Matthew Caws (Nada Surf)

"They're pretty rad"
- Mark Hoppus (+44)

"Fairmont's new record, Wait and Hope, is beautiful. It has a unique way of being both dark and hopeful at the same time."
- Tyler Pursel (Gym Class Heroes & Ladybirds)

"Fairmont, seems once again poised to break to a wider audience."
- Nathan Dylan (WonkaVisionMagazine.com)

From AbsolutePunk.net By Julia Conny
I think I hear the distinct brewing of coffee house espresso over the dingy hammering of Fairmont’s Wait & Hope. I also think I hear faint touches of 90’s alternative and the rustling of flannel. Filing nearly every hole in the wall, Wait & Hope is the homage to old school rock like The Replacements, The Kinks and Husker Du in a grungy era. Rooted in punk rock, there are dirty riffs, an obviously organic point of view, and a frustrated, oppressed vocalist – just look at the album artwork.

The untreated Fairmont sound may come off as crude to some, but that’s the catch 22 when your band fits more in tune with the grunge movement than new millennium indie rock. Wait & Hope keeps to familiar themes like in “Yearbook” and most tracks bear a similar mid-tempo pitter-pattering. Neil Sabatino’s smoky but high vocals quiver and quail along with the percussion and loud, stately piano fits. He’s got a bit of an attitude, that Sabatino, but his band neutralizes the total effect with their own edge of blue-collar wisdom. Take “At The End of The Movie.” The track begins light and timid. The guitars prickle until they build enough confidence to strum and chug at their own accord until a headstrong piano comes in, the one with the big head, and pushes the guitars until they can’t handle the spotlight anymore; they jump back to an acoustic hermit stage and we are alone once more.
But it’s not the guitars that are the winning steel workers for Fairmont. Two things get me thinking that Fairmont has something really (and I mean this genuinely) different than their current peers, at least the ones I’ve heard. First of all, I can actually hear the bass. Distinct, very audible basslines tumble throughout Wait & Hope. They contribute towards the albums deep-in-thought image and provide each track with a dark mystique. Second - the harmonica. It’s the harmonica that gives Wait & Hope a bittersweet glow, and no matter where it pops up in a song, I always feel as though it is well-placed, well-thought, and well-deserved. It’s an easy instrument to incorporate, but it’s not an easy instrument to master without looking like an amateur. Tracks like “Wait & Hope” use each and every instrument to the greatest effect while they blend seamlessly. It’s more than riffing and rolling here, and it’s done simple and well.

I believe that Fairmont is hot shit because I believe in good ‘ol organic fun. The production is sloppy like it should be, and I don’t expect (or want) anything more. Sabatino is paranoid and distraught throughout, if you couldn’t already tell from “Happiness Is A Million Miles Away From Me.” Between him, the dirty riffs, bass and harmonica solos, and piano thumping, there is enough to Fairmont spirit to give up on that corporate coffee chain down the street.

From Pop Vulture (Jersey Beat.com)
http://popvulturephil.blogspot.com
FAIRMONT - Wait & Hope (www.fairmontmusic.com) Fairmont makes some wickedly rock & roll noise! Studied and intense, they sometimes pretend to be Dramarama (and that's a good thing), using their evident talent to make a very enjoyable record. Catchy, anthemic songs like "Wait & Hope," or "At the End of the Movie," are written with tireless exuberance, and come from a batch of songs that are full of excess passion. Energetic dance-rockers with catchy melodies, period. That alone should be enough to get you buy this album. Fairmont have the musical finesse to pull off the fine balance between old school rock & roll and a more modern sound. There are no half-cocked ideas, or stabs at any type of techno-glam, or polishing up of the music. What you hear is what you get. Twelve really good songs with blue-collar wisdom (("Year Book" is a fine example), amidst a barrage of janglely, heartfelt pop rock. This is a band that seems to want global domination with these hits and near-hits. Plus they have enough mojo to make you want to check oit their live show too. Fairmont is a damn good rock and roll band, that will throw you a few curves and surprise the hell out of you at times. They have my vote for one of the Top Ten Albums of the year! - Phil Rainone

FROM SKYLINE PRESS:
http://www.skylinepress.net/review504.php
Plan to start your summer off right? Well, welcome these three Garden state Jersey boys, Fairmont. Their new album "Wait & Hope" is hitting the streets on June 12th, you know, the time when you get out of school and go to the beach or work your hands to the bone for more cash. Either way, these guys have released three full length albums before, this being their fourth, and are well versed in a lot of what the indie scene is about. They also take influences from some of the underground bands from the 60's and 80's, which should fill their music with all sorts of genre fluxuating characteristics. Sounds good right? Then lets get to it.

The influenced mentioned do stick out in a way you notice them but also observe there is a big difference between the fogy rock of that generation and Fairmont. A very naturalistic sound is their goal and they pull it off with old western spirited punk with blues traveler harmonics that pop in every once in a while. They often have played high profile shows with bands such as The Strokes, New Found Glory, and Brand New, it becomes easy to see how they mix their old influences with their more modern counterparts to form a pseudo intellectual home brew example of coming of age indie rock.

Classic guitars strum along with a pronounced bass that crashes with a fluid set of drums to the calming scratchy throat vocals that sigh with every syllable. It shares similarities with My Chemical Romance's lead singer Gerard Way. The remember able hooks remind me of a alt rock song that gets overplayed on MTV but with subset indie sensibilities. Acoustics also get their due, as many songs are based solely around them allowing for a very raw sound that is subtle and still strong. The lyrics are based on a repeat/remember system that has blotches of intelligent thought that gets displayed a few times in order to never be forgotten.

The bouncing "Happiness Is A Million Miles Away" structures a thick bass line into the commotion of the tone high guitars and exhausted vocals. It comes off so catchy with the lines of intersection that all the parts of the song follow. "Dahlia" caught my attention for its pure acoustic feel. It must be something about the metal "ching" sounds that the guitars make because it always gets an A in my book. The vocals also seem relaxed and more at home while this little ballad swoons its listeners. The smooth harmony of "At The End Of The Movie" along with its brutally silly lyrics gives this song a sharp edge that cuts through the bull so well. It also acts as a song that will get you pumped for their music, probably a good live song.

Well it seems to me after experiencing Fairmont in all their glory, they turn out to be a pretty well rounded band. They are remarkably balanced and sow together different genres to make their own, making it a special spectacle to hear. "Wait & Hope" is not only catchy but also an interesting read, as the lyrics are so sarcastic and funny that you just have to sit down and read them. What a great example of what an indie/rock band should be, with the youthful energy combining with the wisdom of experience to form one great record. Now if we could only get Neil to perk up his delivery of these witty lyrics.

From Independent Clauses - Stephen Carradini
I take Fairmont for granted. I’ve gotten so used to Fairmont putting out a really good album every year or so that I almost forget to stop and praise the album like I should. To me, Fairmont is one of those bands that even if you don’t listen to them for a while, they’re still there as one of your favorite bands. They transcend the curse of “out of sight, out of mind,” and that’s incredible when you take into account how many bands I hear every year.
Take the title track of their latest album, for example. “Wait and Hope” starts out with a slick piano/bass riff accented by simple drums and Neil Sabatino’s wonderfully unique vocals. It graduates into a stomping diatribe before getting quieter into the infectious centerpiece of the song that’s delivered not with an exuberant explosion, but a pensive, wry smile. It’s completely unexpected. They throw in a solo section next, where a harmonica is featured in addition to guitar. It’s the sort of song that is so completely comfortable and accessible that it seems like you’ve been listening to it forever.

Part of this songwriting prowess comes from the fact that Neil Sabatino has been writing bitter, guitar-minded indie-rock like this for a long, long time. As the central figure in Fairmont, he shines throughout as lead vocalist and primary songwriter. From the stomping riff in “Suspicion Haunts the Guilty Mind” to the menacing “Tuesday Night Danbury” to the wonderfully charming and perky closer “Andy Goldfish Dreams of the Ocean”, Neil Sabatino changes up the mood with ease throughout, giving the album the amount of twists and turns it needs to keep a listener’s attention for 12 songs. One thing stays the same throughout, though: they all demand to be sung along to. And it’s not the type of sing-along quality where the whole song is an excuse to have a monster chorus (although “Today I Was Thinking About You” almost commits that sin)– it’s the type of sing-along where every single part of the song is just so well done that you want to hum everything. I memorize these types of songs very, very quickly, and so will you.

Sabatino, for all of his songwriting variety, doesn’t change up the mood of the lyrics. He prefers instead to keep a generally sneering and bitter mentality with the occasional shot of guarded optimism to temper the otherwise bleak landscape. Titles like “Happiness is a Million Miles Away,” “Lack of Luster” and “Since Day One I’ve Been Plotting Your Death” prove the former, while “Today I Was Thinking of You” proves the latter.

But it’s not all Sabatino – the duo of Hambone and Andy on bass and drums provide a very important and solid backdrop for Sabatino’s guitar and vocals. Hambone’s bass antics are especially important on the title track, while crashing bass and drums make “Fredo” the impressive song it is.

Fairmont is the cream of the crop when it comes to guitar-based indie-rock, and they prove it with Wait and Hope, which is guitar rock done so impeccably that you can’t help but love it. If you like literate, intelligent indie-rock with a great attention to detail and a liberal dose of attitude, Fairmont will be in your corner. If you don’t, well, Fairmont can get you interested in that sort of thing.

Reviews of FAIRMONT's 4th EP "The Subtle Art of Making Enemies"

Independent Clauses -
"It’s amazing to watch as a band rises up and creates its own persona, all the while maintaining the advancement of its musical creativity. Fairmont has, without argument, done just that." - Mark Pranger

Reviews of FAIRMONT's 3rd album "Hell Is Other People" Renfield / Reinforcement Records

Independent Clauses "Fairmont will always be light-years ahead of the average indie band" - Stephen Carradini

Boston Tab "There’s actually a very warm and pleasing tone to the album, well-crafted rock songs delivered without gimmick or silly flash." -Alexander Stevens

SOHOSTRUT.co.uk "Jersey band Fairmont know how to deliver the authentic US indie rock vibe." - Rob Massey

The Aquarian Weekly "A strong, confident, self-assured, commercially accessible effort from an outstanding young band just beginning to hit its creative stride" - Al Muzer

Jersey Beat "there’s a new player in the Garden State indie scene". – Jim Testa

The Portland Pheonix - "The only good thing to come out of New Jersey (other than Bruce Springsteen), is Fairmont" - Amy Martin

The Portland Press Herald - "They have that jingle-jangle garage sound that's really quite catchy."

BlowUpRadio.com "Fairmont's first album was called "pretending greatness is awaiting", well I dub "hell is other people" to be, "greatness is achieved"." - Lazlo

The Medium (Rutgers) "Go and get it, this is one album to add to your collection, you will not regret it."

The Bates Student , Bates College "Fairmont is a talented band with a confident sound that is really quite a pleasure to listen to."


Reviews of FAIRMONT's 2nd album "ANOMIE" Reinforcement Records

Fairmont is one ambitious indie rock band. They sport electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, and no bassist. Just to add to the challenge, their genre of choice is a highly stylized brand of indie rock, ala Elliot Smith and Joseph Arthur. With the odds stacked against them, it seems that Fairmont has given themselves an ultimatum: become indie rock gods along with Smith and Arthur, or fade off into oblivion.

I can, in good confidence, vouch for the former.

Anomie is basically divided into two sections: the first half a dose of quirky, high-strung rock, the second a brilliant session of low-key mellow songs. The first half of the album is solid, but the second half is where they really shine, as their mellow picking, tempo jumping, and strong command of melody and countermelody come to the focus.
Their rock is complex in various ways, from odd chord progressions to multiple vocal tracks to weaving guitar lines. It sounds cluttered, but they do a good job of pushing the most important elements to the front without diminishing the power of the backing elements. This makes it focused and extremely aurally pleasing.

The vocals here are another distinguishing feature. Equal parts pinched yelp, nasal whine, over-the-top vibrato, and slurry notes, it is the definition of unique. It takes a couple listens to get used to, but in the end, the vocals are irresistible. They are most unique when he's convicted about what he's singing, such as in "Sometimes I'm Bitter" or the emotionally charged "Burn the Churches".Best feature: Diversity, beauty, and originality all rolled into one.

When he accompanies more mellow fare, his voice is lower and more pop-friendly, which makes for some truly beautiful songs ("Knock Me Out", "2:37 a.m."). In fact, "2:37 a.m." is one of the most heart-wrenching songs I've heard in a long time, as the hopeless lyrics, the forlorn vocal delivery, and delicate arrangement work together in an eerie way.

There are many moments like that on this album, moments where you just stare in awe at nothing cause the sound is just so perfect. "The Last Time" has a stellar ending, "Artemis" has a riveting chorus, "Saved Me" has an excellent intro, the entire 48 seconds of "Hello Kitty" are fantastic, and the list of moments goes on and on.

This is an album that should be everywhere. It should be in every indie-rock fanatic's player, and burned to every computer. This is an album that will have your head spinning. The members of Fairmont are on their way to becoming indie rock gods in the eyes of the public. I know they're already immortalized in my mind. - Stephen Carradini INDEPENDENT CLAUSES