![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2017\/04\/Fermi.jpg\")
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Energy. If it\u2019s there, it can turn a good band into a great band; if it\u2019s not, mediocrity becomes the highest ceiling. Of all the intangibles it takes to create something special musically, vigor is without question in the top tier of necessities. You can learn how to play all the most intricate guitar chords, you can figure out all the neat tricks one can accomplish with two drum sticks, and you can come up with the wildest, most innovative effects the human ear could ever hear, but it\u2019s all for nothing if you don\u2019t have an ample amount of energy to go with it.<\/span><\/p>\n Sadly, that\u2019s the achilles heel of Fermi\u2019s Paradox\u2019s self-titled EP. Clearly influenced by the pop-prog that thrived in the mainstream most recently in the late 1990s and early 2000s, these five songs beg to be heard with more passion, more vitality. A band like Incubus \u2014 which is clearly a huge inspiration here \u2014 garnered the success it garnered throughout its early years due to a vibrancy that could be felt both onstage and on a record.<\/span><\/p>\n Here, though, the quartet falters due to a lack of spirit. \u201cAtlas,\u201d with its jam groove and mild funk, could be a glow-stick evening under the stars, cut-off jeans swaying to the wind of the night in unison with a bass line so chill, it\u2019s probably best paired with Netflix. But as singer Diego Retana claims, he\u2019s \u201cbound by shackles of my shame,\u201d he\u2019s simply too unconvincing to take seriously. In some ways, you almost wonder if he\u2019d rather not be heard, refusing to emote his words with any type of attack.<\/span><\/p>\n Compounding the issue is Alex Taylor\u2019s guitar, which can\u2019t quite seem to lock in with its surroundings while a solo eventually unfolds. The same problem plagues a song like \u201cUnder The Stars,\u201d which plays far looser than it should. It\u2019s not that the parts aren\u2019t logical \u2014 and it\u2019s not like anyone should be criticized for a lack of effort \u2014 it\u2019s just that with a little more attention to detail and a lot more rehearsal, this is a song that could soar rather than glide.<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps the closest the band gets to that level is when it\u2019s at its most Incubus-y, and in the case of this EP, that comes in the form of opener \u201cEntropy.\u201d Complete with spacey guitar effects and a dance-tastic, forward-pushing structure, it stands as the tightest the group feels throughout each of these five tracks. Plus, the distorted soloing that rings through the bridge is chaotic in all the right ways, paving the way for a solid chorus that feels more immediate than anything else surrounding it. If nothing else, it proves that Taylor can shred whenever he feels inspired to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n The problem is that he \u2014 and the rest of his bandmates, for that matter \u2014 doesn\u2019t seem inspired all that much. \u201cCommunity\u201d wants to push forward, but the overriding feeling that prevails throughout the first two-plus minutes is apathy. It\u2019s a shame, too, considering how much potential is there. It\u2019s like the ideas are ready to blast themselves to the next level \u2014 especially here, with an up-tempo, slightly off-kilter groove \u2014 but the players behind them aren\u2019t willing to meet them with the appropriate amount of enthusiasm they need to reach the next level.<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, such is probably why \u201cMatter\u201d works in the way it does. Balladry fits these guys well, especially when a layered atmosphere shines like the moon on a cloudless night, and these verses prove to be as deliciously milky as the finest chocolate. Even the chorus, a repetitive-yet-interesting arrangement, feels more realized than the rest of its brethren. It oscillates with intriguing confidence, a welcome contradiction to the skepticism that follows these performances throughout the rest of the EP.<\/span><\/p>\n Or, in other words, the rest of the EP could learn a thing or three from such self-awareness. Ballads are supposed to be toned down, and in the case of Fermi\u2019s Paradox, both the band and the record, everything appears far too subdued to leave any possible lasting impact. It\u2019s not a matter of inadequacy or failed ideas; rather, it\u2019s a matter of execution, a slight on the unwillingness for a band to sell themselves with any type of passion, any type of fire.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just so cozy inside a bubble,\u201d Retana sings on closer \u201cCommunity.\u201d Fermi\u2019s Paradox, for better or worse, might be surprised at what they could accomplish, should that bubble ever burst.<\/span><\/p>\n ** 2 STARS OUT OF 4 **<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Energy. If it\u2019s there, it can turn a good band into a great band; if it\u2019s not, mediocrity becomes the highest ceiling. Of all the intangibles it takes to create…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":891328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-891327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}