EP review: FAKY - Unwrapped

FAKY has not yet put out an album despite debuting in 2013. Fans like to act like their 2017 release Unwrapped is an album. But, no sweetie. This is absolutely an EP. An EP which is actually pretty decent and seemed to carve out a sound for the group, making it all the more baffling that there is still (at time of writing) no album.

But, HENNYWAY.

Unwrapped is a pop album which is heavily influenced by dance and house music; which makes as much sense as it doesn’t. It’s a shift from most of what FAKYhad released before, but FAKY’s releases have always run somewhat of a gamut. FAKY dipping in and out of sounds is part of their charm; making their approach to music more akin to K-Pop groups who feel no way about doing whatever the fuck type of music, as opposed to J-Pop groups and even solo acts who tend to stay in one lane musically.

The dance and house vibes hit right outta the gate with the album opener "Keep Out", a song produced by Shinichi Osawathat some may recognise from the FAKY is back teaser videos of the 2.0 lineup of the group. It’s an Osawa production, so it slaps. But it does feel lacking both lyrically and vocally. The former is a surprise, given that the song is written by Sonomi Tameoka, who knows how to write a good song. But nothing about the melody or the hook (or lack thereof) really sticks. The gambit of “Keep Out” is Osawa’s production, which carries the entire song. You may not remember a single word of this song after listening to it, but your cheeks will want you to hit repeat so they can clap to that beat again. Verbal of M-Flo should have been brought in to write to this. He showed a knack for being able to write great catchy songs to Osawa’s productions with Namie Amuro’s “Rock U” and “Naked”.

A lack of lyrics that really stick is an issue with the house and dance driven songs across this EP. “Are You OK?”, “Surrender” and “Bad Things” all have a hot set of beats and nice music production - but there’s just this void when it comes to catchy melodies and a really strong hook. The only 2 songs on the album which feel like somebody was trying to actually write a hit are “Candy” and “Someday We’ll Know”, which just happen to be the 2 pop songs on the album.

“Candy” feels a little out of place on this EP, because it’s sound deviates from everything else. This is largely because “Candy” is a carry over from the EP of the same name which was released only a year before, off the back of a string of songs which had similar types of sounds. “Candy” has been recorded and performed by every iteration of Faky and released 3 damn times as I write this. It’s a cute song and it has a really fun vibe. Where-as the other songs on Unwrapped seem to veer from the typical types of songs you’d expect an edgy Japanese or even a Korean girl group to release, “Candy” is by the book. It is a good song, with a great energy, but Unwrapped would have been better without it. But watch this song end up on FAKY’s next EP. And if they ever manage to release an album, it’ll probably end up on that too.

Album closer "Someday We'll Know" is the strongest song on the EP because of how radio friendly it is and how it manages to bridge the dance influences of the other songs, but with everything a good pop record has: a memorable set of lyrics, a strong melody and a great hook. I really don’t like using the term ‘global’ to describe music, but there truly is a global appeal that this song has because of its style. It could play on US radio, UK radio, it could be a K-Pop smash in South Korea with the right group. It reminds me so much of a Clean Bandit song, and I mean that as a compliment. Clean Bandit has a sound which always manages to fit well on all types of radio station playlists, across all markets, and at the core, there is always a great pop hook. This is “Someday We’ll Know”. It’s wild that Avex didn’t push this song harder, because it had so much potential to really catapult FAKY. This was the song FAKY really needed. And it’s a shame they didn’t manage to really hit the mark quite like this again until 3 years later with “Little More”.

Unwrapped gave FAKY a really good foundation on which to build an album, which is why I cannot believe that 4 years since its release there is still no full length album. And all Avex have released since is a damn re-release of this EP which drags ‘n’ drops Anna's vocals to the recycle bin and includes more of Akina and the 2 members who had joined the group since. And it doesn't even include one of the best songs from it.

Whilst the lack of solid melodies and hooks is the biggest problem with Unwrapped, another is the vocals. Whilst Unwrapped does a good job of establishing some form of sound for FAKY, this doesn’t extend to the groups’ vocals. Only 2 members of this group could sing back when this EP released, and it's the same case even now with new members. Lil' Faky and Akina are the only members who can sing on key. But the problem is that the songs are shared out between the 4 members in a way which doesn't always make sense. Songs seem to be going for fairness in terms of line distribution instead of who sounds best where. And there's also nothing distinct about how FAKY sing their songs or how they sound when they sing together. Not every group is fortunate enough to have vocalists, a mix and arrangements which you can immediately identify when you hear them on radio or out in public. Not every group can be the Pointer Sisters, an En Vogue, or a Destiny’s Child, and this is never my expectation. But even so, there's things that can be done. For example, K-Pop girl group f(x) had a vocal style which was distinct because of the arrangements and use of harmonies which sounded different to how other K-Pop girl groups sounded. Girls' Generation had a formula when it came to who sang what parts, and Taeyeon was also the identifier. With Perfume's it's the way their producer Nakata Yasutaka has them sing that makes their voices so distinct. With FAKY there's no sense of trying to give the group a vocal signature of sorts. They're just singing however on the songs. So despite the EP feeling cohesive and encapsulating a style, the vocals don't quite do the same from track to track. And the songs lacking earworm melodies and hooks doesn’t help matters.

The vocal production in and of itself is also pretty ropey on each track. “Candy” is one of the weakest songs on the EP, but it’s the one song where FAKY feels like they own the track and there was a conscious effort to make them sound a certain way; which is in large part because of the style of song “Candy” is. It’s brassy, and it’s all about horns and handclaps - so it commands punchy vocals. With the dance cuts however, I feel that the consensus may have been ‘Well, the beat slaps and is doing so much that the girls don’t have to’. Which is fair. The beats do be slappin’. But FAKY needed to come through on the songs. This should have been the objective with every song. Maybe there was a reluctance to give FAKY a vocal style which was reliant on a particular setup of members if Avex knew they’d be cycling bitches in and out. Who knows.

Unwrapped is a pretty good EP, which leaves me so baffled as to where FAKY's music has drifted and deviated to since its release. There was a clear through line of a sound and a semblance of a style, one which felt somewhat linked to their debut "Better Without You". Both of FAKYs EP’s prior to Unwrapped were pretty consistent, but Unwrapped felt like the one where it seemed that there was a commitment to something a little different in a bid to widen FAKY’s appeal. The ideas and the direction of Unwrapped get a thumbs up from me. But the problem here is that only 2 out of the 6 songs managed to get the assignment right that what FAKY needs are songs with hit potential. Not just something that sounds good playing in Bershka or a H&M.

VERDICT: *POURS ONE OUT FOR TINA, DIANE AND ANNA*

Highlights:
■ Keep Out
■ Candy
■ Someday We'll Know 🏆

🔊 Stream FAKY’s EP Unwrapped: 🟢 Spotify | 🟣 Apple Music | 🔴 YouTube Music