I wanted to first talk a little bit about the nature of community in music. Music is everywhere we are and yet sometimes it’s explored and enjoyed in terms of isolation. Sometimes even a crowded club can be the loneliest place on Earth. The reason for this is that when music isn’t truly shared as part of something of a community, it ultimately fails in a sense. Some songs just don’t feel as great when you’re alone and sometimes the best feeling is hearing your favorite melody amongst friends all happy about the experience. Everyone around you hears it together. Of course, the problem is that bands don’t often get the opportunity to play houses because you have to find someone willing to give up his or her space and most often it will be smaller than a club so you might be playing to fewer people. Practicality aside, I still enjoyed hearing music in a different kind of space.
Fancie is a three piece band based out of Berlin currently on tour that decided to play a house show the night before their set at South Union Arts in Chicago. Fancie is fragile and has a couple of albums out, most recently The Feeling of One which I was able to pick up at the show. It’s a bit of outsider folk and it’s very fragile at times. While playing, she immersed herself most of the time in complete darkness and encouraged the audience to sing along on one track inparticular, “Dinosaur.” Being a photographer, I was a bit frustrated with this lack of light but on the other hand, it enhanced my hearing a bit and I felt more concentrated on the notes being played through the guitar. She also played one song on the wurlitzer.
Fancie comes across just as emotional sometimes on record. Take one listen to the lush string crescendo on “Sympathy,” or on “Danger” listen to the turbulent guitar while she insists urgently 'You are in danger…you have never been a stranger. Danger!' There is a soul to this and at times Elisabeth Wood’s vocals are just slightly reminiscent of a much less polished and rawer, Fiona Apple in her earlier days. At times, such as on “Let’s Flip a Coin,” they provide a heavenly strain to supplement one layer of already recorded vocals The songs on album are also much richer in terms of instrumentation as they are supplemented with viola, cello, harp, and mandolin.
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Download:
Francie - "Baptism for the Dead"
Purchase Fancie’s albums via Hush Records here
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