Hell is Other People
| Hell is Other People | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 📅 Released | 15 February 2005 | |||
| ⏳ Length | 40:06 | |||
| 🏷️ Label | Renfield Records, Reinforcement Records, Mint 400 Records | |||
| Fairmont chronology | ||||
| ||||
Buy this album Hell is Other People or listen to it on amazon
Hell is Other People is the third studio album that is from the American rock band Fairmont.
Content[edit]
The thirteen-track pop rock album was released on compact disc with Renfield Records and Reinforcement Records on 15 February 2005.[1][2] Hell is Other People is the first Fairmont album to feature former Pencey Prep bassist John McGuire.[3] It is described as a "middle ground between adult contemporary and screaming, angst-ridden pop," and is conceptually based on the Jean Paul Sartre play No Exit.[2] On developing his songwriting in a Jersey Beat interview, Neil Sabatino recalls "Hell is Other People was exactly the type of indy pop I always wanted to do" and that recordings of "the live material from that era is some of Fairmont's best stuff." The album is compared to the music of the indie rock band Pavement, the alternative rock band the Pixies, and the indie rock band the Shins.[4]
Shortly after the release, guitarist Kevin Metz left the group.[5] Hell is Other People was reissued with Mint 400 Records, in 2007.[6]
Reception[edit]
A review by Robert Hicks in the Daily Record says "a sense of hopelessness fuels Sabatino's songs," and calls the album "dark and melodic." It is also described as having "biting lyrics and engaging melodies" along with being "thought provoking and evocative" in a Top40-Charts review. It continues with "man's cruelty toward one another and the inability to escape this human tendency is a central theme [to] both the album and the play[;] the listener embarks on a journey in which the narrator battles a person he loves in "Your Fan From Far Away" and a person he hates in "The Monster You've Become" as well as his own self-loathing and disappointment in "Don't Give Up The Ship," and concludes that "by album's end the narrator is still incapable of escaping his own hell, much like the characters in Sartre's play."[4]
The Aquarian Weekly calls Hell is Other People a "strong, confident, self-assured, commercially accessible effort from an outstanding young band just beginning to hit its creative stride."[7]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "An Introduction" | 0:48 |
| 2. | "The Monster You've Become" | 4:23 |
| 3. | "Your Pictures On My Dart Board" | 2:59 |
| 4. | "Aces & Eights" | 3:45 |
| 5. | "Monday" | 2:35 |
| 6. | "You Ran From Far Away" | 3:54 |
| 7. | "Twenty/Twenty (Hindsight Is...)" | 2:46 |
| 8. | "Waiting For You" | 3:07 |
| 9. | "Hypochondriac" | 3:41 |
| 10. | "Don't Give Up the Ship" | 3:02 |
| 11. | "4th Of July" | 3:51 |
| 12. | "Cutting Your Nose Off to Spite Your Face" | 4:12 |
| 13. | "Reprise – The Monster You've Become" | 1:04 |
| Total length: | 40:06 | |
Personnel[edit]
- Andy Applegate – drums
- John McGuire – bass guitar
- Kevin Metz – guitar
- Neil Sabatino – lead vocals and guitar
Additional musicians[edit]
- Sam Carradori – backing vocals on "Monday" and "Your Pictures On My Dartboard"
- Christian Kisala – keys
References[edit]
- Citations
- Bibliography
- AllMusic Staff (2005), "Hell is Other People Releases", AllMusic, retrieved 25 January 2019
- Carradini, Stephen (1 May 2005), "Fairmont-Hell is Other People", Independent Clauses, retrieved 25 January 2019
- Draisin, Deborah (2008), "Jersey Beat Interview: Fairmont", Jersey Beat, retrieved 25 January 2019
- Hicks, Robert (4 March 2005), "Fairmont's rock takes an existential tone", Daily Record, p. 64, retrieved 25 January 2019
- Muzer, Al (2005), "CD Reviews: Hell is Other People", The Aquarian Weekly, archived from the original on 18 March 2016
- Parciak, Brooke (2010), "How To Run a Record Label: An Interview With Neil Sabatino of Mint 400 Records", Jersey Beat, retrieved 25 January 2019
- Top40-Charts Staff (22 January 2005), "Fairmont hits the road with new CD, 'Hell is Other People'", Top40-Charts, retrieved 25 January 2019
