FACT, or ファクト if you speak the lingo, are eleven years young Japanese purveyors of that most vague of genres, ‘post-hardcore’ – which pretty much means, well, nothing these days.
Actually, ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ souns more like a combination of something not a million miles away from the more recent Set Your Goals effort and a very Japanese take on a decade‘s worth of punk, hardcore, big riffs and electronica.
FACT are band that shouldn’t sound good or even make any sense in theory, but in both cases they acheive being a fine exception to the rule. The stack of talent on display and the effort put into their arrangements is most definitely nothing to turn your nose up at.
Walking the tightrope of variation in style and inconsistancy is a dangerous game, and the album takes a few listens to make a real impression – but with a little patience, it’s involving, dark, well put together and a fine record by anyone’s standards.
‘Part of it All’ and the title track are the two tracks that’d be worth checking out to get an idea of what the album’s about, but it’s a tough one to judge from one or two tracks, and worth listening all the way through.
It’d be a fool’s errand to write the band off based on their (admittedly) off-kilter reputation – there’s plenty here for fans of pop-punk and traditionally more ‘technical’ and heavier genres here.