Local Music Review - Famous In May / "Squares"

I had the idea a few months ago to start a frequent (and by frequent, I really mean extremely infrequent) series of posts reviewing music from local Northwest Arkansas artists. It seemed like a fun and interesting thing to do, and, if nothing else, it may give all 2 of my occasional readers a heads up about bands they may have otherwise not heard of in the NWA area. Now, I'm no legitimate music critic--I don't claim to know an incredible amount about music and I claim to know even less about writing (and exponentially less about writing about music), but, nonetheless, here we find ourselves. So, without further ado, here is my first edition of the "Local Music Review."

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Famous In May / "Squares"

I should start off by saying that I am good friends with several members of Famous In May and friends with the other ones. Also, I should probably mention that they are responsible for getting my band well over half of the shows we have played. Despite these facts, this review will not be a friend patting his friends on the back simply for the sake of doing so. I went into listening to this EP with the mentality that I wasn't going to cut them any slack--mostly because I knew they would prefer an honest review rather than some hollow compliments. However (and not necessarily to my surprise), no slack was needed.

After several months of holding out for my copy of FiM's "Squares" EP with the pretty art on the disk, I finally got my copy a few weeks ago. Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, its a pretty quick listen.

I was familiar with all of the songs on the disc before I listened to it and am happy to report that the vast majority of them retain all of their live glory and, in most cases, improve upon it. "Squares" bounces back and forth between a couple of styles, from the tense build of opener "Twist It," to the more groove-based "Lights Ahead" to the acoustic near-balladry of "Will You Be My Friend." Generally, the songs all stick to an ever-so-slightly dark, laid-back pop sound with a tinge of folk. It is reminiscent of the last "Travis" album. Crowd favorite "Defending On My Own" seems to be the only track that loses a little bit of "umph" in its transition to the studio. However, the recorded version is still a whole lot of fun.

The songwriting is solid. Famous In May does a great job of musically complementing the songs and reinforcing themes while never threatening to take over or distract--exactly what a songwriter typically wants out of his band.

The standout track, in my humble opinion, is the longest cut on the EP, "This Is Standard." Heartbreaking lyrics that seem to outline the human condition very simply and effectively anchor a song full of interesting music--most notably the foundational swirling keyboard part and the evocative bass line.

I completely recommend this CD to anyone who is looking for some hope for the Fayetteville music scene. Amidst a sea of bar-bands and screamo sound-alikes, Famous In May bring something unique. Buy it at their shows for $7. Keep up with them at www.myspace.com/Famousinmay.

Grace and Humility (or, more appropriately, 'Why Can't We All Just Get Along?')

Disclaimer: Most of the time, I do not live out these things. This post is a prayer for myself, as well as for the rest of the Church.

I hope I live to see the day when the majority of the body of Christ treat others as we have undoubtedly been treated. It breaks my heart every time I see Christians arguing and fighting with both each other and unbelieving people over things that should be discussed. They are usually important issues, certainly, but it seems that most people tend to assert authority they simply don't have when these things come up. We serve a God that is infinitely big, complex, and mysterious. He has given us many absolute, definitive statements about who he is and how we are to live in response to him. He has also given us many cryptic, debatable statements about himself. I believe there are "correct" interpretations of these things, but I think it is very easy for us to err in figuring them out. And we, most likely, won't find out for sure until heaven. It is hard to find two individuals who share exactly the same views on all theological issues--let alone the same interpretation on what the appropriate response is relationally, socially, politically, etc. to said views. And that is OK! We can all afford to get a few details wrong in this life.

We certainly have to keep striving to find the "correct" theology and responses to said theology--and this is a life-long process of prayer and petition to God. But, I doubt anyone will have all of this until well into eternity. So, lets live this way! Lets live as if we don't have all of the answers. We don't. Lets keep the conversation open about what a Christian should look like in America roughly two thousand and seven years after Christ's death, because when it is all said and done, we could very well be lovingly told we were wrong in many, many ways when we are face to face with our creator. And as long as we loved him and kept striving for him, he's not going to hold that against us. We can all afford to get a few details wrong in this life.

I think that when we get to heaven, a lot of liberals are going be surprised to find that all conservatives weren't a bunch of money-hoarding, close-minded, ignorant, hypocritical bible-thumpers. And a lot of conservatives may be surprised to find out that all liberals weren't a bunch of world-pleasing, afraid-to-take-a-stand, trend-conscious, truth-ignoring tree huggers. We may very well be surprised that the other group was right about more things that we thought. We may very well be surprised that we both missed the mark horribly (that's what I'm betting on). What we will find is that, as hard as it may be to believe for some, those "other" people sincerely loved Christ, and were trying their hardest to build their lives around his call. And we will worship him forever along side them.

Please, for the love of God the Father, can we please show each other grace and humility?

-Cameron