Music Under Fire

Rating: 3.4/5

The piano of Fulton Read only accounts for one of the many directions in sound the group can turn. As the center instrument behind the showcase of their rock-infused tune though, it is slowly gaining notoriety for the duo from The Woodlands, Texas.

With their Indivisualize EP releasing to the public for free on November 19, the piano still plays to its lead position, but the addition of horns, electric guitars, drums and a chorus of vocals certainly help bring everything to a grander scale. Originally formed around lead vocalist and pianist Anthony Erickson and Stephen Duffy, the duo added these extra features which compliment each other while still keeping a rambunctious, yet finely tuned energy at the forefront.

The first track on the EP,"Chemistry", displays this fusion of artists working within set parameters. This song starts by gently lifting through a lazy electric guitar and lightly tapping high hat before Erickson's vocals cut in and throw the song into a frenzy fit enough to charge center stage. As this song progresses the piano backs off as "I don't know how we took this long" is repeated all while horns blow before coasting home.

"Wii are all luck" follows with a little less pizazz but with refrains of "the happiest man got happier somehow" and "the prettiest girl got prettier somehow" tied along with an electric guitar that strings along to each rise and fall make this a complete song from start to finish.

The most catchy and emotionally charged track on Indivisualize comes with "Is this love, Is this love that's eating me up". Multiple times during this song Erickson is given solos and chances to press his lyrics to listeners, which in turn enables every supporting instrument to etch its own interpretation of these lyrics.

The self-titled fourth track, "Indivisualize" closes out the EP in a far different fashion that it began. The solos from the drums and guitar highlight this track to create a true rock sound that might be more comparable to work Erickson and Duffy wield with just the two of them in mind.

Overall this EP is for fans of instrumental rock intertwined with a heavier vocal front, but it also should appeal to jazz and funk listeners. Though the four tracks do portray the Fulton Read's sound strongly, a live show would be the ultimate experience since speakers only carry the heavy vocals of Erickson so far.

Fulton Read released the full-length How Rocks Became Mountains while they were still stationed around Houston. Their Out of the Woods EP was completed with the help of Rory Allen Phillips, who also assisted with Indivisualize. The group has played with Circa Survive, Say Anything, Limbeck and The Format. Their Best Things in Life Are Free Tour is set to start in January '09. Current tour dates can be found on their MySpace page.

MP3: Fulton Read - Chemistry