Fan Death EP shows promise … sort of

Vancouver’s Fan Death, composed of Dandilion Wind Opain and Marta Jacuibek-McKeever, is named after the bizarre South Korean fear of sleeping in a room with a fan running and dying of suffocation. The band’s recently-released EP, A Coin For The Well, is suffused with just that sort of macabre, irrational tone. As the music video for “Cannibal” illustrates, the album is alternately bizarre, depressing, or both.

Unfortunately, like the disco the group so stridently adopts, the record also peaks early and falls off precipitously. The opening track, “Reunited,” offers just enough to pique your interest – strings in sync with synthesizers, cryptic lyrics, and a pace just a few notches below “danceable.” Then comes “Cannibal,” with its magnificent, soaring violin riffs, and driving drums.

It’s easily the strongest song on the album, especially since the final three songs don’t offer much. This trio of tracks is burdened by boring string riffs and nonchalant vocal delivery. The two combine to lull the listener into a stupor, reversible only with aide from known, reliable stimulants.

With their supremely confident, cooler-than-thou attitude and recent signing to Last Gang Records, Fan Death are generating a lot of buzz. In fact, some people are calling them the next MGMT or Crystal Castles . I’m not convinced – if they pump more “Cannibal” and less “Son Will Rise” into their full-length début, which comes out in May, they might well grow beyond the indie scene. If not, they might end up as the next Ark of Infinity .

“Who?”

Precisely.

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Listen to  “Cannibal” and “Reunited” on Fan Death’s MySpace page and then leave a comment to tell me how wrong I am.