SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FRED ABONG – FEAR PAGEANT

FRED ABONG
FEAR PAGEANT
DISC DRIVE

Fred Abong has been around a while, starting up as far back as the 80s as part of the hardcore punk scene, and then playing bass for Throwing Muses and Belly. As a solo artist, working as a singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he has so far been coming up with some quite detailed and textured albums, of which Fear Pageant is his seventh.

And yet, he has not garnered as much attention as he should have as a solo artist. The music Abong comes up with, particularly on this album, is full of subtle textures and shifts, layered instrumentation, and arrangements, and his melodic, lyrical, and vocal cross that is anywhere between Bob Dylan and Paul Westerberg.

While these comparisons might sound a bit lofty on paper, listening to this album, you realize they stick quite well to what has come up here. Give Fred Abong the recognition he deserves.

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