I Fight Fail: Voyages and Vantage Points

Written by Robin Ervolina
When I was younger (much) Dark Side of The Moon was my lullaby. The somniferous nature of space rock cradled my psyche and allowed my frontal lobe to recede into the nothingness of sleep. As I’ve grown older (not much!) I’ve learned to take my shit to the pit, but this trippy psychedelic sound still holds a special place in my heart, and it’s a room I Fight Fail’s Voyages and Vantage Points seamlessly inhabits.
The one minute and 12 second intro is a nearly monotone monologue of Earth as seen from space. “From this distant vantage point, our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.” The dialogue continues over a synthesized melody, connecting us to the vast universe where borders are things you reach for and infinity is the gift you're given. This is, by the way, how you should listen to space rock; throw your arms out wide and reach your hands to the edges of forever. That’s the mood and mode I Fight Fail brings forth.
This four-piece outfit from Canton, Ohio is joining the space rock genre in a really interesting way. Vocally, you’re not dealing with the hypnotherapist tone associated with classic space rock bands like Pink Floyd. Lead singer Andy Potter has a pop punk vibe, immediately evident in “Are You Okay.” It imparts some angsty feel to the typical mesmerizing nature of tune-in-and-tune-out tunes. "Anything at All" has a great rock intro and lays those sweet vocals over an extraterrestrial choir. The repetitive choruses through the CD have both a 50s era simplicity and a “focus on the pocket watch” trance-inducing state. By the time I get to “Revive the Expired,” I’m fully checked out. I know because this tune triggered something, emotionally speaking. I had to go back and listen to the lyrics because in the middle of fading into the universe, I found myself choking up. Free therapy, anyone?
I Fight Fail has done something different within their genre; their instrumentation soothes my soul, sings it to sleep, and then the piercing voice of Potter wakes up something buried within … and you can’t wake up until you’ve slept, am I right? It's almost as if I Fight Fail took me on a voyage so I could see clearly from a new vantage point (I see what you did there). So dream, perchance to sleep, and pick up your copy of Voyages and Vantage Points today.