Anyone who thinks the phrase “it’s all been done before” carries real weight clearly has yet to encounter Fair to Midland. Dark, heavy, moving, cryptic, progressive art rock collides with flourishes of old-school country, Americana and Delta Blues in their sound. These Lonestar boys' genre-defying and boundary obliterating ocean of sound righteously upends the old phrase “fair to middling” from which their Texas-ified moniker was drawn.
Arrows & Anchors, the five-piece band’s first album in partnership with eOne Music, is meaner, sadder and altogether more desperate of an affair than its predecessors. “It’s a very bitter album,” offers vocalist Darroh Sudderth. “The last album had some light at the end of the tunnel in some of the subject matter. This one doesn’t have that quite so much.”
This particularly invigorating yet undeniably gut-wrenching collection of songs is the product of a string of years of career strife since the group last poked their head into magazines and record shops. Arrows and Anchors follows a change in record label, a change in management and one (“maybe two,” Sudderth laughs) changes in booking agent. All of that change and upheaval definitely played a role in the creative process; artistic lemonade from business lemons.
There has never been a lack of faith from the diehard admirers who have steadily adopted the band as their own in growing numbers since Fair to Midland’s initial pair of self-released albums, The Carbon Copy Silver Lining (2001) and inter.funda.stifle (2004). Both were explorations into the furthest reaches of the musical psyche that earned them praise from critics, fans and fellow musicians. Fair to Midland are a true “band’s band.”
So much so, in fact, that eclectic musical connoisseur and multiplatinum recording artist Serj Tankian, best known as the frontman for System of a Down, signed them to his Serjikal Strike imprint, which released The Drawn & Quartered EP (2006) and the band’s third full-length album, Fables From a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True (2007).
A killer live show and intensive roadwork as a headliner, at prestigious festivals such as Coachella, Download, Rock AM Ring and Rock IM Ring and together with bands like Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Flyleaf and Dir en Grey has brought the band’s skillful and adept approach to art rock infused prog-metal to international attention.
There are a few of their by now trademarked tongue-in-cheek dalliances to be sure but for the most part Arrows and Anchors is Fair to Midland’s most cynical offering. By the same turn, it’s a performance album with a laser-like focus on the raw passion and intensity. In an age of overly processed heavy music, the band partnered with producer Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Melvins) who sequestered them into his self-appointed House of Compression in Pasadena, California and wrenched out top-tier performances.
The recording captures an authenticity and a sincerity that’s lacking in most modern records. “We always want to work with someone who is interested and enthusiastic to work with us,” Sudderth explains. “Because at the end of the day they’re going to spend that much more time wanting to make the record their own, as well. We didn’t want to worry about everything being immaculate, pristine and polished. This is absolutely a performance-driven record.”
Arrows & Anchors is also a testament to Fair to Midland’s personal chemistry and unique collaborative perspective. Some songs were written together. Others were demoed out by a particular member – say keyboardist Matt Langley or his six string cohort, Cliff Campbell – right down to the programmed drums. “Or maybe I brought a completed song where I programmed whatever instruments I can’t play,” Sudderth elaborates. It was a very open process.
The bizarrely creative and inspired vocals and guitar work in Fair to Midland play against the counterintuitive and monstrously rhythmic backbeat of drummer Brett Stowers and bassist Jon Dicken. Matt Langley’s ethereal electronics enhance everything else. The group’s canvas is as expansive and breathtaking as the state of Texas itself.
Fair to Midland is one of the rare bands who expertly walk the fine line between accessibility and integrity, between open lines of communication and introverted psychic exploration. “We’re not gifted songwriters,” Sudderth says with genuine self-effacing humility. “So we have to be really resourceful and that’s a talent in and of itself. We do our best.”
Fair to Midland's current lineup consists of Darroh Sudderth (vocals, banjo, mandolin, bass), Cliff Campbell (guitar), Matt Langley (keys), Ryan Collier (bass), and Logan Kennedy (drums).
In November 2011, the band released their first DVD, Welcome to the Dirt, consisting mainly of band shots and fan footage of live shows. The DVD is distributed exclusively through their own merchandise site. The profit from this release helped fund a professional video recording of the band's show at The Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan on December 17. This footage will be released worldwide on DVD on March 27, 2012. Arrows & Anchors will was released on double vinyl on March 26, limited to 250 copies.
A Wolf Descends Upon The Spanish Sahara
Fair to Midland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A birds eye view of a burning bridge,
You've gone through ghost towns settle past,
Hoping the risk was worth a cause,
Oh, sound off the false alarm,
But I'll make my own colleague from wood and from ivory,
I'll assemble my equal from what I lack and require,
And gather what's left unaccompanied,
It smells like disaster,
It looks like a trap,
So go by the wayside,
And never look back,
If you could spare me forty winks,
While you cry wolf and I count sheep,
What good old ghosts in Kevlar vests,
With backbones like a jellyfish,
Oh, stomp on your land again,
But I'll make my own colleague from wood and from ivory,
And reap the rewards of proximity,
I'll assemble my equal from what I lack and require,
And gather what's left unaccompanied,
It smells like disaster,
It looks like a trap,
So go by the wayside,
And never look back,
If you are keeping score then you are bound to win,
A ring side seat at the main event,
Oh, stomp on your land again,
It smells like disaster,
It looks like a trap,
So go by the wayside,
And never look back.
In "A Wolf Descends Upon The Spanish Sahara," Fair to Midland reflects on the dangers of blindly following the scorecard and sticking to pre-defined expectations. The lyrics warn against being distracted by false alarms and traps, and instead encourage the listener to take risks and follow their own path. The band uses metaphors of building colleagues from wood and ivory, as well as references to ghosts in Kevlar vests, to emphasize the need for forging one's own identity and standing up for oneself.
The first verse sets the scene of someone who has passed through ghost towns and taken risks. Despite the potential for failure or disaster, they still hold onto their cause. The refrain, "It smells like disaster, it looks like a trap, so go by the wayside and never look back," reinforces the notion that being too affixed to a predetermined path can lead to disaster.
The second verse continues to emphasize the importance of building one's own identity and being willing to go against the grain. The singer suggests that success lies in assembling colleagues from what they lack and require, rather than simply sticking to what they know. The repetition of the refrain further emphasizes the need to break away from the familiar and take risks.
Overall, "A Wolf Descends Upon The Spanish Sahara" is a song about the dangers of complacency and the need to take risks in order to achieve success.
Line by Line Meaning
If you're keeping score then you're bound to win
If you are keeping track of the outcome, you will come out ahead
A birds eye view of a burning bridge
An aerial view of a destroyed path forward
You've gone through ghost towns settle past
You have traveled through abandoned settlements of the past
Hoping the risk was worth a cause
Hopeful that the gamble was justified
Oh, sound off the false alarm
A warning that there is no real danger
But I'll make my own colleague from wood and from ivory
I will create my own peer from different materials
And reap the rewards of proximity
And benefit from being close to this person
I'll assemble my equal from what I lack and require
I will create someone who complements and fulfills my needs
And gather what's left unaccompanied
And collect what was left behind and alone
It smells like disaster
The situation seems like a catastrophe
It looks like a trap
It appears to be a dangerous scheme
So go by the wayside
Ignore it
And never look back
Don't dwell on it
If you could spare me forty winks
If you could let me rest for a little while
While you cry wolf and I count sheep
While you give false alarms and I try to sleep
What good old ghosts in Kevlar vests
What helpful spirits in protective armor
With backbones like a jellyfish
With weak and spineless resolve
Oh, stomp on your land again
A warning to not invade again
If you are keeping score then you are bound to win
If you are keeping track of the outcome, you will come out ahead
A ring side seat at the main event
A prime spot to witness the most important part
It smells like disaster
The situation seems like a catastrophe
It looks like a trap
It appears to be a dangerous scheme
So go by the wayside
Ignore it
And never look back
Don't dwell on it
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDREW SUDDERTH, BRETT STOWERS, CLIFFORD CAMPBELL, JOHN MATTHEW LANGLEY, JON DICKEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind