In an attempt to avoid the obvious, I will review this album trying not to include any bias regarding the much publicized passing on of two of the members of For Squirrels. It will suffice to say their talents will be missed and it is fortunate they left a piece of work such as Example as their legacy.
Now that that is over I can begin this review: It has always made no sense to me why nobody successfully ripped off R.E.M. the way so many other Alternative Rock bands ripped off the other pioneers in this genre. It would seem R.E.M. would be ripe for the picking since their style is so concrete. Well, more than ten years later, someone finally has. For Squirrels finishes what bands like Live started by successfully releasing a record that sounds just like the boys from Athens and actually receiving some airplay with it. This, however, is by no means a bad thing. Example is a record full of pop gems done with energy and sincerity. Incorporating cliche' into a style almost their own, For Squirrels have produced an impressive debut.
It seems a shame that the first song to catch radio's ear is "Mighty K.C." a song about Kurt Cobain. I had heard the song "8:02 PM" (probably the strongest track on the album) on the radio only days previous to the accident. Then suddenly the lyrically trite (although musically well written) "Mighty K.C." was everywhere. They are both solid songs but "8:02 PM" seems a more mature pop song especially when lyrics are considered. The death of Nirvana's great front man seems too important to be the focus of a song by a band no one has heard of yet. It seems a subject you would have to earn the right to sing about.
Aside from this exploitative marketing scheme the album has other flaws. It seems whenever the band tries to break the R.E.M. formula they fall flat on their face. Songs such as "Superstar" find former front man Jack Vigliatura growling and almost screaming a place he should not be going with his raspy, Stipeish voice. These songs almost sound like something a wimpy high school band would do when they are trying to "rock".
For Squirrels seems a band best enjoyed when they are being wimpy. Melodic, poppy, quiet hooks seem their strong suit and should be exploited more. Songs like "Disenchanted" and "Eskimo Sandune" display this power well. When I first received this disc, I listened to it about ten times in a row, a rare occurrence in my world. It was songs such as these that made this possible. Unfortunately certain tracks had to be removed using the program feature of my CD player. This is something I almost never do but it was just painful to listen to a couple of these songs that many times.
Despite the few small flaws in this record it is one of the best debuts to reach my ears in a long time. Hopefully the members of this band will be able to recover from the tragedy which recently struck them, and perhaps grow into a great band by focusing exclusively on their many strong points.
