Band : Fidget

Album title : Ashes & Dust

Label : Redfield

Distributor : Hard Life Promotion

Release date : 14/03/2008

Release : CD

Sorry about getting this review out to you this late, people, but the original person intended to make it has somehow been unavailable to us for over a month, due to consecutive work-related situations. That's what you get when you're involved in a job that will take you abroad a lot, eh?

Anyways, this German quintet (do not confuse for one of the many Fidget s around...as far as I know, you've got one in Toronto, Canada, at least 3 in LA, California, one from the neighborhood of Birmingham, UK, a couple more allover the US, and even an a-capella band from Utrecht, Holland) with Düsseldorf as their domicile city was born in 1999 and made their recorded debut with the 6-track 2002 Nixon EP, which then still represented a rather decent-type lind of Rock Pop music, too special really to be classified into one Rock genre only. The following years would be busy ones, the band releasing single The Marks Of Those (featuring 3 versions of the title track plus one more) and their full-length debut Celebrate Another Day Living in 2003, the mini-CD Hear You Scream (which contained 2 tracks that would make the next album) in 2004, single Mojo (with an album and an alternate version of the title track, plus a third track) and sophomore album The Mercyless Beauty (for which leading German Vision Magazine lauded the band with the quotation " Fidget is renowned to be the most light-footed Alternative Rock in Germany") and yet another single titled Ride My Track (besides the unreleased title track it contained a song off the recent album) in 2005. One year to the day after The Merciless Beauty 's original release (24/02/2005), the album got re-issued in a special edition including   a second disc featuring the extra tracks off the last two singles, plus two promo and another two live video clips).

On the new album, Fidget is said (this is the first time I've heard anything of/from them) to bring a matured sound as compared to their older stuff, but "without loosing their agility to be fresh in the melodies, with riffs that turn screws in your head, and bring you to their own law of time". Thanks to their male/female vocal fronting there's at least some playfulness in that department (which is at least óne element which will bring the music lovers into slightly Punked-up and radio friendly Pop Rock to multiple repeated listening sessions), and the guitars indeed swirls around in the speakers on top of that. The men in the band all play several instruments (shared vocal frontman Thomas Jeske also handles guitar, keyboards, theremin, percussion, and chimes...and while all other guys also do backing vocals, guitarist Felix Ohmes also twiddles about on keyboards, bassist Daniel "Swiko " Schiwek also plays keyboards, theremin, and Needle, and the drummer/percussionist also plays occasional keyboards) which certainly makes for a filled runabout musical landscape. Occasionally, remeniscences to The Cardigans come floating above (like in the opening of "Stalewater" , where frontwoman Darline Rubi opens the track somewhat calmer on her own). Of course that reference flushes away with the entering of the male lead vocals, or even whenever (which is most of the time) the pace picks up somewhat.

Check out a couple of the new album's tracks (plus more, like also a video) at myspace.com/fidgetgermany. If you don't like what you hear right-off, drop it! I mean, in the German Alternative Rock circuit Fidget certainly are a cut above average, but then we probably have a couple of this kind of bands in our own country too. Perhaps they deserve your support a bit more, eh? However, if you dig what's on offer, then by all means try to get either this or one of the band's previous albums! Hey, it's not for nothing that these guys have managed to play all over Germany, putting in over 400 gigs, some of which were in support of Incubus , Lostprophets , Beatsteaks (a somewhat similar band musically, but without the vocal duality), and Donots to name but the most resounding ones. If you're looking forward to meeting the band somewhere on the live circuit, you'll have to travel to Germany to catch one of their shows there (check their Myspace page or their recently renewed own website fidget.de for details), because for the time being they're not leaving their home country to gig.

90/100

Tony.