Three years after the release of their critically acclaimed self-titled album, The Autumns are back with Fake Noise From A Box Of Toys – their fourth full-length. Fake Noise continues along the well-trodden path of shoegazey dream-pop, with a bit of experimentation thrown in for good measure, some of which works well, some of which simply falls flat.

The album blasts off to a promising start with the 50-second-long anthemic wall of noise “Turning Strangers Into Friends”, with its big guitars and Matthew Kelly’s forceful vocals. The album’s first single “Boys” follows; it’s a solid enough tune with its driving bass-line and strong vocals turning to falsetto. “Clem” is the first real example of the experimental turn The Autumns’ have taken; you start to notice unconventional drumbeats, tempo changes and twinkling piano vying for attention with heavy guitars. The odd combination of sounds and multi-layered vocals continue in “The Midnight Knock” and “Killer In Drag”. The musical experimentation has been working well, succeeding in creating new sounds, but by the time the relatively boring “Night Music” rolls around Kelly’s falsetto has become quite tiresome.

The second half of the album brings more unexpected tempo changes, more guitar effects, yet thankfully less falsetto. “Uncle Slim” is the closest Fake Noise ever comes to a standout track. It’s catchy and actually has some nice hooks, opening with a lovely intertwining of drums and piano, leading to Kelly’s smooth – non-falsetto – croon, then finally bursting into a wall of fuzzy guitars and a fetching chorus. “Adelaide” gets off to a nice start, poppy and melodic and full of promise. Unfortunately, while it has the potential to be a straightforward dream-pop song (something this album could have sorely used) it’s this track that suffers the most from the noisiness that pervades the album; the distortion has become grating and the drum machine is unnecessary. “Oh My Heart” closes the album much the way it opened, only this time with a six-minute anthem rather than a 50-second one.

There are some nice moments on Fake Noise, but it ultimately suffers from lack of moderation with the effect-laden guitars, drum machines, the oft-utilized tempo changes and again, Kelly’s falsetto. I appreciate The Autumns’ attempt to throw some wrenches into their signature shoegaze sound. However, I feel that the tinkering was overdone, resulting in some degree of redundancy with many of the songs following a similar structure.
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Links
The Autumns [official site] [myspace]