Phases and Stages

Fozlur

Fozlur

Despite frays in the vestments, Fozlur packs more than enough artistic heft to stand out and be noticed. Their eclectic mix of Brit pop, No Wave, and prog rock tends to spew about in frenzied founts comparable to highly caffeinated diatribes delivered at all-night diners. The Austin quintet’s latest, a five-song EP recorded at Tequila Mockingbird, neatly distills Fozlur’s essence and hints at potential greatness lurking beneath the firestorm of ideas. “Riot Gun” cops the classic hold-and-release pattern endemic to Nineties rock anthems and combines it with a Can-fashioned bass riff in the verse that conjures more tension with every repetition. Though the band bills itself as the “anti-Strokes,” vocalist/ guitarist Kevin Dehan resembles Julian Casablancas in tone on lackadaisical, fuzz-pop nuggets like “Magnetoscope” and “Tetris.” The latter song’s bouncy structure also evokes the Jesus & Mary Chain’s propensity for dunking surf-rock nuances in acidic crunch. All of which would amount to little more than a lovely pose if not for Fozlur’s ability to construct highly evolved songs that resonate far beyond the sum of their influences. Kill the Wallstreet Abrahams is Fozlur’s earlier, self-recorded full-length. While it offers more songs, it’s essentially a work in progress compared to the EP. The group’s myriad ambitions dilute its power a bit, leading to drawn-out jams steeped in freewheeling practice-space experimentalism rather than songcraft.

(Kill the Wallstreet Abrahams)

(Fozlur)

This article appears in January 24 • 2003.