Secret Lives

Fortune Teller (2015)

Mike

Long Island, New York gained national credibility in a big way in the early millennium. Many of its bands went from suburban basements and VFW halls to packed clubs and, in some cases, stadiums. Beneath the boom was the ever-present Long Island DIY punk scene consistently nurtured by a rather tight-knit group of kids who played in two or three bands at a time. Bands like Capital, Thieves and Assassins, Agent and more kept the Long Island DIY ethic alive for years eventually giving way to the mighty Iron Chic, Incendiary, Backtrack and more. What Secret Lives remind us of on Fortune Teller is that the Long Island punk ethic and sound is alive and well. And, as is often the case, Secret Lives is a kinda-sorta side project featuring members of Iron Chic and Capital. What is even better about Secret Lives is that they’ve manage to create a musical identity separate of their aforementioned other bands.

Fortune Teller boasts nine songs that showcase the musical awareness of thirty-something suburban punks who’ve come to the point where they know how to integrate their musical muses without sounding at all contrived. The opening tracks, “Sick & Tired” and “Listen to Your Bad Voice. Forget Your Good Voice,” offer up surf punk riffs a la Dag Nasty or Dead Kennedys that set a frantic pace. Short, melodic and driving, they don’t allow the listener to do much else but to bob along to a poppy but aggressive beat. But by the fourth track, “Therapay,” the band moves the listener along to a far more D.C.-influenced sound with a clear Fugazi influence. The guitars are more dissonant and the overall tone is far darker. And this is largely how the record fills out, landing on the more complex structure and slightly murkier tone associated with Fugazi. For me, the musical eclecticism is welcome because this is a side project, after all. They’re having fun here and it comes through in the music. That is an achievement to be celebrated, not criticized.

In terms of vocals, Fortune Teller adopts the traditionally Long Island yell/shout sound rather than screaming or singing. Luckily for the band, the vocals are perfectly complemented by the music despite its diversity. Whether shouting over the fast-paced punk rhythms of the opening tracks or over the more mid-tempo pace of the closing tracks, the vocals manage to fit well and add great depth to the record as a whole. Don’t expect too much on vocal range here but do expect to find yourself singing along to the pained shouting in “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

Secret Lives have done well on their first release, it’s as simple as that. Their album provides the listener with both musical range and opportunities for singing along, head bobbing and introspection. Fortune Teller is certainly a record worth coughing up a measly seven bucks for, which is all they’re asking on their Bandcamp site. Certainly fans of Iron Chic would love this release but I also think it offers enough musical diversity to appeal to a wider audience as well.