News

16 Mar: Fancy writing to your mp about the Digital Economy Bill? - send a letter here: WriteToThem.com . If you are not sure what to write read this article here. But the idea is 'please do not let this bill go through without having a good read first and realise that it props up an old business model with unneccesary legislation'. Or whatever. i'm barely literate.

Mar 15: Very excited, just spotted first customer review on iTunes .' uhh. what is this crap?!?' by yodude5000.

18 Feb 2010: review in Is This Music?:

Fake Tan: Pieces 4/5

A rummage through the loft shows that as suspected, this East Lothian outfit did indeed feature on an is this music? CD some 5 years ago. That piece of detective work along with the album notes (I’d say ‘sleeve’ but since the release comes wrapped in a haggis pizza box with a ‘nonconforming goods’ stamp that might be pushing it a bit) tells us a bit about this album, though quite why it’s taken so long to put together is another matter.

Part of the delay may be the way the band work - “recorded on phone, 4 track… in boxrooms, attics… in Prestonpans, East Linton, Stow…” it’s quite a sonic jigsaw. To learn more about the mermerising opening track ‘Patty’ we find that “Niko” in Greece sent tracks recorded by his band’s drummer.

And so it goes. A largely instrumental album, we’re fooled by the dulcet, Naomi-esque whispered vocal from Nikki which proceeds in a dream-like state until in time-honoured post-rock fashion guitars and drums courtesy of Gasgiant’s Mic kick in.

And hopefully the band won’t mind the mention of post-rock here, but in fact there’s more to them than that. Short interludes like ‘Skinderella’ are simply lovely guitar instrumentals in any genre, while ‘Rat Poison’ is all cellos, a looming juggernaut of a tune that threatens to explode but never quite makes it, perhaps fooling us into whispering the ‘P’ word again.
Again the sleevenotes sum things up fairly well - “intro additional but too late” typical of the random nature of, well, everything about Pieces.

‘I’m Not Mowgli I’m a Girl’ perhaps closes to the Mogwai (not Mowgli stereotype, all meandering guitar lines and processed “1 note mooger guitar”. In all an immersive, headphones-on experience, best enjoyed in a darkened room.

6 Jan 2010: First review of pieces in from The List:

Fake Tan - Pieces - The List 3/5

The effort pumped into this release is phenomenal. It was recorded over an 11-year period on phones, mp3 players and computers, and Tom and Nikki Fraser’s love for the material is obvious. Pieces also comes uniquely packaged in the remnants of recycling rubbish and gaffer tape. The music contained within is by turns delicate and grand; lonely-yet-optimistic guitar lines are suddenly joined by swelling ebow sweeps and keyboard sound effects. This won’t be for everyone, though – the lack of vocals for the large part make it a challenging listen in places, and the album feels slightly unbalanced – six of the 12 tracks are over within two minutes, while three of them wander past seven.

Jan 10: Fake Tan Pieces album released. The album is available for free as mp3s, for sale on itunes etc..