Further Seems Forever

How to Start a Fire (Tooth & Nail)

May 14, 2003 at 4:00 am
Further Seems Forever's debut disc featured Mr. Dashboard Confessional himself, Chris Carrabba, on vocals. Carrabba split and proceeded to break hearts and bank accounts while FSF was left floundering. For those over the age of fifteen, this incident was probably met with a shrug of indifference, but emo kids aren't known for taking anything lightly.

Carrabba's much-debated replacement, Jason Gleason, probably won't ditch the Pompano Beach, Florida, quintet and try to rewrite the emo diaries single-handedly, but he's clearly hoping to edge in on his predecessor's gilded teenage fan club. To achieve this, Gleason and company rely on paint-by-numbers chord progressions and remedial lyrics (thoughts pass by like a river) that are scarred from a terminal case of hackney.

In reality, further doesn't seem like forever, but listening to this CD sure does. With some innovative ideas and a grown-up lyrical approach, FSF might be able to overcome the loss of its original singer, but a second record that continues How To Start a Fire's trite tradition might as well be titled How to Extinguish a Career.