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One True Pairing
Barnes and Noble
One True Pairing
Current price: $27.99
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Barnes and Noble
One True Pairing
Current price: $27.99
Size: OS
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More than many artists,
One True Pairing
's
Tom Fleming
is well prepared to explore the complexities of the late 2010s. After all, he already tackled many of these subjects with
Wild Beasts
, a band who, over the course of five albums, eloquently explored the intersection of the personal and the political.
Fleming
continues to examine that fraught, inescapable relationship as
, and though the name of his solo project comes from Internet fan fiction, his self-titled debut album couldn't be more genuine. In
,
's resounding baritone was the perfect complement to
Hayden Thorpe
's falsetto as they played with different aspects of sexuality and masculinity. On his own, he sounds rougher, wearier, and more direct as he digs into the ways class and gender shaped the political climate that created Brexit, as well as more timeless conflicts. To express them, he looks back, but not fondly:
's anti-nostalgic combination of Reagan and Thatcher-era sounds --
Bruce Springsteen
Tom Petty
Depeche Mode
-- helps him tie together nearly four decades' worth of struggle. On songs like "Blank Walls" and "I'm Not Afraid,"
's mingled strength and doubt echoes
Springsteen
's skill at connecting with, and critiquing, the idea of the everyman. The juxtapositions of artificiality and authenticity in
's words and sounds are even more intriguing thanks to
's artful use of electronics. When synths erupt behind him on "Weapons," it delivers a visceral jolt; on "Elite Companion," sleazy, penetrating tones magnify his envy and self-loathing as he mutters, "It's a long, hard climb/Just to taste your life." On each track,
channels the tension that runs through relationships, whether they're between two people, as on the rare, rough-edged love song "One True Pairing" or a nation full of them, as on gritty, unbowed tracks like "Zero Summer" and "Dawn at the Factory."
offers more compelling, complicated proof that
can find new angles on topics other artists won't touch -- and shows he has even more to say on his own than he did with
. For both of these reasons,
is an equally welcome return and introduction to his music. ~ Heather Phares
One True Pairing
's
Tom Fleming
is well prepared to explore the complexities of the late 2010s. After all, he already tackled many of these subjects with
Wild Beasts
, a band who, over the course of five albums, eloquently explored the intersection of the personal and the political.
Fleming
continues to examine that fraught, inescapable relationship as
, and though the name of his solo project comes from Internet fan fiction, his self-titled debut album couldn't be more genuine. In
,
's resounding baritone was the perfect complement to
Hayden Thorpe
's falsetto as they played with different aspects of sexuality and masculinity. On his own, he sounds rougher, wearier, and more direct as he digs into the ways class and gender shaped the political climate that created Brexit, as well as more timeless conflicts. To express them, he looks back, but not fondly:
's anti-nostalgic combination of Reagan and Thatcher-era sounds --
Bruce Springsteen
Tom Petty
Depeche Mode
-- helps him tie together nearly four decades' worth of struggle. On songs like "Blank Walls" and "I'm Not Afraid,"
's mingled strength and doubt echoes
Springsteen
's skill at connecting with, and critiquing, the idea of the everyman. The juxtapositions of artificiality and authenticity in
's words and sounds are even more intriguing thanks to
's artful use of electronics. When synths erupt behind him on "Weapons," it delivers a visceral jolt; on "Elite Companion," sleazy, penetrating tones magnify his envy and self-loathing as he mutters, "It's a long, hard climb/Just to taste your life." On each track,
channels the tension that runs through relationships, whether they're between two people, as on the rare, rough-edged love song "One True Pairing" or a nation full of them, as on gritty, unbowed tracks like "Zero Summer" and "Dawn at the Factory."
offers more compelling, complicated proof that
can find new angles on topics other artists won't touch -- and shows he has even more to say on his own than he did with
. For both of these reasons,
is an equally welcome return and introduction to his music. ~ Heather Phares