Fishtank

This page is for Singapore band Fishtank (www.myspace.com/fishtankrock) and also East Coast band FISH TANK (www.facebook.com/fishtankuk) After seeing the band's substation show, Wakemeupmusic label founder John Chiong was electrified. And in 2001 ? Fishtank spoke their very first words. 2001's Souvenir Novelties & Party Tricks hurtled towards jaded, unsuspecting music fans at warp speed. Fishtank' unique punk-ska sensibility was fresh, immediate, weird and exquisite ? a cacophony of melodic intricacy tempered by a quirky, childlike enthusiasm.

After seeing the band's substation show, Wakemeupmusic label founder John Chiong was electrified. And in 2001 ? Fishtank spoke their very first words. 2001's Souvenir Novelties & Party Tricks hurtled towards jaded, unsuspecting music fans at warp speed. Fishtank' unique punk-ska sensibility was fresh, immediate, weird and exquisite ? a cacophony of melodic intricacy tempered by a quirky, childlike enthusiasm. It became the little album that could ? and would ? turn local indie-rock on its head. Fishtank had arrived.

If Souvenir Novelties & Party Tricks came directly at you, then its sophomore Make Nice kindly invites you in. A bigger, bolder production aesthetic took everything up a notch and ? alongside more adventurous songwriting ? polished an already golden egg. To play music for a long time, you have to surprise the people that know you ? while also surprising yourself. Enter Make Nice.

Recorded over time by Leonard Soosay ? Make Nice is a whole new animal. It is the sound of a band growing up and out. Fishtank's infectious, fast frantic style is still at the core, and tireless. But anything can happen around it ? and in this case, it does. Channeling a Muse-like guitar riff intro, ?I want out? pairs a Biffy Clyro rhythm with The Fratellis singalong shout out choruses. Elsewhere the band toys with tweaked-out reggae rhythms (?One Shot?); frantic, arpeggiated thunderous anthems (?Conversations?); and, taking cues from the vibe of the new line-up ? sweeping, fuzztoned epics (?Yahoo! Superstar?). Finally, ?Young & Old?, ?Candlelight? and ?Walkaway? are the songs that didn't fit in then are now reworked into exhilarating, rollicking, rock-solid songs we've all come to desire from Fishtank.

So have a listen to Fishtank's Make Nice. And consider yourself surprised.