Arizona’s Fameseeker and the Mono opens with “Thimble” and its tender, eclectic instrumentation like Sufjan Stevens and Anathallo while having hints of Middle Eastern tones in the guitar lines like the kind Camper van Beethoven was always able to achieve. Because of this, Arizona lands in my rather broad category of the Spectrum called College/Art Rock which is indie, folky but experimental, electric, and unpredictable.
“Midday Midnight” is acoustic blues, bluegrass, folk, swing, and classical, but at the same time, none of those things. A bit like how Rufus Wainwright makes songs sound vaudevillian when they’re just rock songs. For Arizona, there’s a Beatlesque, psychedelic, classic rock vibe ready to burst, but on tracks like “Life is Great,” it is stripped back to be much more folky along with some Sufjan Stevens horns.
The title track of sorts, “Fameseeker (Echoes From the Halls of Decay),” has the horns and pounding, resounding drums of Anathallo. As the central piece of this collection, it shows Arizona’s spirit to discover how to put all of these things together. As a church bell strikes to signal the drums, you feel as if the band is on their way to something much bigger.
Thanks to Arizona for the review CD.
