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Is it just me, or do most bands that go out of their way to meld genres usually
end up failing on nearly all levels? One could easily mistake such a band as
being multi-faceted, but it seems more often than not that they are using a
completely different genre to cover up their core shortcomings. Folly is such a
band, and they have chosen to try and fuse hardcore, metal, and ska. While it
sounds interesting on paper, I quickly realized that in my 24 years on this
planet I have never met a hardcore or metal fan who wondered why their music
didn’t have ska, and vice versa.
Folly gained somewhat of a cult following with 2004’s Insanity Later, despite a
largely lackluster critical reception. That album is unheard by me, but I feel
like I should receive some kind of tolerance award for making it through Resist
Convenience in one sitting. This is an assault, plain and simple, and not the
good kind. Running a mercifully scant thirty-four minutes, Resist Convenience
ranges from halfway tolerable (“The Wake”) to terrible (“Broken,” “All The
King’s Horses,” and “Operation: Work: Lift-Face”) to a track that does not even
qualify as a song (“Brooks Wuz Here,” running a total of thirty-three seconds).
Working from a priority standpoint, the first problem with this band is the
vocals. Singer Jon Tummillo’s scream, which permeates nearly every second of
this album, is piercing and untrained. There actually is an art to effective
musical screaming, but Tummillo screams for the sake of screaming instead of for
musical potency. Folly is at their worst when they try to be a metal band, as
demonstrated on “False Evidence Appearing Real,” which actually utilizes
completely out-of-place death metal growls. The metal riffs from guitarists Agim
Colaku and Geoff Towle are shockingly generic in every facet of their down-tuned
delivery.
Now the eternal optimist in me will take over. As bad the album is, it actually
does reveal a band that is more than senseless screaming and A.D.D. riff changes
– but only if you listen closely. The aforementioned “The Wake,” far and away
the best offering on Resist Convenience, represents the direction I wish the
band had taken from the get go. Folly’s frequent, catchy “ska” breakdowns are
bound to be a hit with teenage girls proudly dancing with their virgin
strawberry daiquiris. Bassist Arben Colaku shines when given the chance, and the
rest of the band would be smart to follow in his creative footsteps. There’s a
good twenty to thirty seconds on every song where the band shows some promise.
The best Folly can do from here is find a happy medium between Tummillo’s
painful screaming and the shred of talent they display with their ska-inspired
breakdowns, if at all possible. As it stands now, this is simply a band that is
trying to do too much, and working beyond its ability.
~Bill Clark
bclark@bullz-eye.com
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