Artist:     Farewell Milwaukee

Album:     FM

Label:     Self-released

Release Date:     09/09/2016

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Little known but extremely astute in the art of providing genuine pop perfection, the Minneapolis-based band Farewell Milwaukee know how to produce the kind of hooks that garner instant enticement…

On this, their fourth effort to date and arguably their best so far, they prove the point, offering a mix of buoyant rockers (“Caught int he Abyss,” “Hurt No More,” “Figure You Out”) and the sort of bittersweet ballads that tug at the heart strings and threaten to never let go (“Till We’re Afraid,” “Poison Rain,” “Recluse”). It’s that vibrant mix of both the endearing and the effusive that makes this band true contenders, absolute masters of both merriment and melancholia in equal measure. It takes a rare talent to make music that’s so instantly embracing, and yet this sextet seem to possess all the necessary additives.

Offering up both razor sharp rhythms and tear-stained sentiment embellished by ornate orchestration, there’s nary a false note evident anywhere over the course of these 13 songs that make up the magnificent FM. That’s a rare feat, but it becomes obvious instantly after only a single listen. Thought they lack any big name association, they’ve made an album that deserves inclusion in any best-of list for this year. To ignore it would be to deprive yourself of what can only be described as a true treasure.

– Lee Zimmerman