While online information about Fern Sully is scant, this much we can glean: the band — whose earliest music materialized online in March 2021 — started as a solo endeavour by lead vocalist, lyricist and guitarist Becca Howes, who performed and programmed all the instruments on early demos. In late 2021, they called in reinforcements, recruiting Mel Sarazin on guitar, Hannah Weber on drums and Izzie Mack on bass to flesh out the current incarnation of the band.
The band put on an intense, energetic New Friends Fest set back in August, and the promise of new music raised both excitement and expectations. Better Luck Next Time, the first official release by the band as a four-piece entity, fulfills the promise set by their ferocious live show — a transcendent, tumultuous, all-too-short listen, it's an excellent introduction to the band's punchy, trebled sound.
The band has described their sound as "indie emo sorta '90s grunge sometimes I guess ugh idk" (which has to be the greatest band description ever), as well as simply "indie emo" influenced by Swearin' and Pavement. There are shades of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and the Smashing Pumpkins throughout, and the band's haunting, three-part harmonies conjure images of '50s and '60s vocal groups. Various members sing back up, but lead vocals and lyrics are handled by Howes, whose impassioned voice rises above the fuzz.
Lead single "Pore Over Me" — the video for which finds the band reveling in film references, with allusions to The Exorcist, Ghostbusters and Paranormal Activity presented through three different video formats — is carried by jangly, dreamy tones, a snug nightmare that feels both dark and inviting.
The band's penchant for '80s dream pop and '90s shoegaze and grunge is most apparent on the EP's two middle tracks: a shimmering distorted guitar swirls through the background of "Try Anything" before disintegrating in a torrent of fuzz, while "Euclid," with its reverb-heavy, tremelo'd guitars, sways with the twangy shades of a Spaghetti Western theme song. It's full of loss, painful memories and trauma, but it emphasizes music, love and community as powerful wells of hope. In particular, the line "Play all those deep cuts, you know the words / Felt so right to feel so close" is an emotional highlight. Its abrupt ending reflects those moments when someone is suddenly gone, and we have no way of expressing how we feel — about them, about ourselves, about life without them in it. It's humbling and horrible and freeing, and it's painfully real.
The rhythm section is often sparse, bouncy and consistently tight, giving each track a distinct rhythmic personality. On album opener "RIP Zone," the crunchy bass is a clear standout, while the pounding drums in "Pore Over Me" are heavy, desperate and driving. These production and mixing choices — which were handled by Trevor Cooke, Andrew McLeod and Kurt Marble — give the songs a sense of enormity and space.
Similarly, guitarists Sarazin and Howes interweave their parts perfectly, with strummed passages accentuated by subtle melodic riffing. This interplay is most apparent on the soaring highlight "High Horses" — with its cooed vocals, bubbling electronic intro and self-preserving lyrics, the song is a fierce celebration of finding one's inner strength in order to make a change, even if it's sometimes really fucking hard. The last line, "I wish I wasn't right," will ring true for anyone who's ever needed to convince themselves that it's time to move on.
Overdriven, propulsive and passionate, Better Luck Next Time is a strong introduction to a new band with infinite potential and clear songwriting chops. Their power-pop-by-way-of-indie-emo-sorta-'90s-grunge-sometimes-I-guess-ugh-idk sound is not only filled with nostalgia and memories but great hooks, and the sub-20-minute runtime means it begs to be spun over and over and over and over again. The bandwagon's pulling up: better hop on while you still have the chance.
(Independent)The band put on an intense, energetic New Friends Fest set back in August, and the promise of new music raised both excitement and expectations. Better Luck Next Time, the first official release by the band as a four-piece entity, fulfills the promise set by their ferocious live show — a transcendent, tumultuous, all-too-short listen, it's an excellent introduction to the band's punchy, trebled sound.
The band has described their sound as "indie emo sorta '90s grunge sometimes I guess ugh idk" (which has to be the greatest band description ever), as well as simply "indie emo" influenced by Swearin' and Pavement. There are shades of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and the Smashing Pumpkins throughout, and the band's haunting, three-part harmonies conjure images of '50s and '60s vocal groups. Various members sing back up, but lead vocals and lyrics are handled by Howes, whose impassioned voice rises above the fuzz.
Lead single "Pore Over Me" — the video for which finds the band reveling in film references, with allusions to The Exorcist, Ghostbusters and Paranormal Activity presented through three different video formats — is carried by jangly, dreamy tones, a snug nightmare that feels both dark and inviting.
The band's penchant for '80s dream pop and '90s shoegaze and grunge is most apparent on the EP's two middle tracks: a shimmering distorted guitar swirls through the background of "Try Anything" before disintegrating in a torrent of fuzz, while "Euclid," with its reverb-heavy, tremelo'd guitars, sways with the twangy shades of a Spaghetti Western theme song. It's full of loss, painful memories and trauma, but it emphasizes music, love and community as powerful wells of hope. In particular, the line "Play all those deep cuts, you know the words / Felt so right to feel so close" is an emotional highlight. Its abrupt ending reflects those moments when someone is suddenly gone, and we have no way of expressing how we feel — about them, about ourselves, about life without them in it. It's humbling and horrible and freeing, and it's painfully real.
The rhythm section is often sparse, bouncy and consistently tight, giving each track a distinct rhythmic personality. On album opener "RIP Zone," the crunchy bass is a clear standout, while the pounding drums in "Pore Over Me" are heavy, desperate and driving. These production and mixing choices — which were handled by Trevor Cooke, Andrew McLeod and Kurt Marble — give the songs a sense of enormity and space.
Similarly, guitarists Sarazin and Howes interweave their parts perfectly, with strummed passages accentuated by subtle melodic riffing. This interplay is most apparent on the soaring highlight "High Horses" — with its cooed vocals, bubbling electronic intro and self-preserving lyrics, the song is a fierce celebration of finding one's inner strength in order to make a change, even if it's sometimes really fucking hard. The last line, "I wish I wasn't right," will ring true for anyone who's ever needed to convince themselves that it's time to move on.
Overdriven, propulsive and passionate, Better Luck Next Time is a strong introduction to a new band with infinite potential and clear songwriting chops. Their power-pop-by-way-of-indie-emo-sorta-'90s-grunge-sometimes-I-guess-ugh-idk sound is not only filled with nostalgia and memories but great hooks, and the sub-20-minute runtime means it begs to be spun over and over and over and over again. The bandwagon's pulling up: better hop on while you still have the chance.
