Compromises by Number One Fan (CD, Jun-2003, Number One Fan)

Album Features
UPC:	659057955629
Artist:	Number One Fan
Format:	CD
Release Year:	2003
Record Label:	Number One Fan
Genre:	Rock & Pop

Track Listing
1. Come On
2. It's Happening
3. Can't Forget
4. Prettiest Sin, The
5. Don't Say Anything
6. Nothing Will Change
7. Distance, The
8. Sorry
9. Make the Cut
10. There Went the World

Details
Playing Time:	44 min.
Distributor:	CD Baby (distributor)
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	n/a

Album Notes
Appleton, WI-based quartet Number One Fan originally self-released Compromises, and generated strong Internet and word-of-mouth buzz for its melody-heavy approach to the emo pop formula. They've ended up as the debut signees to industry vet Pat Magnarella's Universal-distributed Pat's Music imprint, and have reissued their album with new cover art and fresh remastering. The result is an emo softball, stitched with lightly ringing guitars, organ and string overtones, and the centerpiece wail of Nick Ziemann. Of course, that's expressive in the archly pitched, bordering on maudlin approach favored by many emo-leaning acts of the mid-2000s, from Jimmy Eat World to Early November. Number One Fan fits right in with its peers, offering cascading rockers ("Can't Forget," "Come On") and quieter yet equally well-appointed numbers ("Sorry") that highlight even more Ziemann's youthful views on love and spirituality. (Number One Fan has dabbled in the alternative CCM movement.) "I woke up and you were on top of me/And it felt right and wrong at the same time"; "Wait for the stars to change my fate"; "Nightmares of hell/I'm dreaming of heaven" -- his words will sound familiar to fans of the genre, but at least Ziemann's conviction feels genuine. And yet, his wavering, overwrought delivery often makes him sound like a tortured socialite. In "The Prettiest Sin," the phrase "Not far to go" becomes "Naught fah to gao." This curiosity figures into what's generally most trying about Compromises, namely that it makes too many. Whether through production niceties or the ex post facto mixing, the album is much too pretty for its own good. Music like this needs a little instrumental grit to match its lyrical tales of teen love gone bad. In other words, there need to be some sonics with the sonnets. Number One Fan proved its fan appeal even before the major-label support, so there's a likelihood of success for Compromises. But it still could've used some more backbone. ~ Johnny Loftus