Fish On Friday -
Shoot the moon


(CD 2010, 47:48, ACE 1004)

The tracks:
  1- 9.1. Surround(6:12)
  2- Listen(3:12)
  3- Don't go knocking Me Of My Feet(3:27)
  4- Shoot The Moon(5:09)
  5- Move South(3:27)
  6- Fish On Friday(4:01)
  7- Star(5:00)
  8- Smile(4:12)
  9- Surviving November(4:20)
10- Flower Song(3:51)
11- All Falls Into Place(4:50)

Fish On Friday Website       


Fish On Friday is a Belgian duo consisting of William Beckers (keyboards) and Frank Van Bogaert (keyboards, vocals). With guest musicians Marcus Weymaere (drums), Marty Townsend (guitars), Robin Aerts (bass), Bert Embrechts (bass), Hans Van Der Leede (drums), Dany Caen and Chantal Kashala (both backing vocals) they recorded in 2010 the well-received debut album Shoot The Moon.

The opening track 9.1 Surround is typical for the sound of Fish On Friday: melodic soft rock music in the vein of Mike & The Mechanics and Alan Parsons. Well, it doesn't rock at all actually and that's at the same time my main objection against this album. However, the use of the bleeps Steve Miller used on one of his famous songs makes this song a bit special. Next piece Listen is more or less a dance song despite the slightly distorted vocals, but I didn't like the awful disco beats. In Don't Go Knocking Me Of My Feet you can hear many influences from Depeche Mode and Roxy Music during the Avalon-era. Nice beats but also a very simple verse to sing along with. The title track Shoot The Moon is a ballad which is again rather simple, but still pleasant to listen to on a warm and sunny day. The guitar solo of Marty Townsend and the backing vocals of Dany Caen and Chantal Kashala make this song one of the best of the album. Move South is a very simple song as well and the title track is the only instrumental piece. Star is an excellent copy of a song from Alan Parsons. Smile contains too much pop music without a trace of symphonic or progressive rock. It's in fact a radio-friendly acoustic piano ballad with a children's choir at the end. Surviving November is a ballad with a waltz tempo; it's middle-of-the-road music for a nice romantic evening. Flower Song is the most symphonic track with several fast played synth solos. The final song All Fall Into Place is a mixture of all the aforementioned musical styles and bands.

For a debut album Shoot The Moon isn't bad at all, but it will certainly not appeal to many progressive rock devotees.   

*** Cor Smeets (edited by Peter Willemsen)

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