Album Review — FM

FM — Thirteen

FM is a British rock band that’s been around since 1984. Their thirteenth studio release is appropriately titled “Thirteen”. Over the last decade the band has been quite busy after taking a 25 year break in 1995. “Thirteen” is the follow up to their 2020 release “Synchronized”.

It’s been one of those weeks. Every time I’ve tried to listen to this record something has come up. So it’s going to be a track by track, first time through review. Here we go…

“Shaking The Tree” — A noticeable synth part in the open. Smooth sounding. Not overly heavy, a little bluesy riff. Not a bad start.

“Waiting On Love” — Very 80s sounding from the start. More prevalent keyboards in the open. Very melodic and smooth.

“Talk Is Cheap” — I keep coming back to how smooth this band sounds. Even the song that’s supposed to be a little gritty is still smooth. Maybe too smooth for some ears.

“Turn This Car Around” — And there’s the anthem. I can already tell from the very start that I’m going to like this one and I’m correct. It’s one of those songs you play loud driving down the highway. Hoping for more of this.

Love and War — Bluesy acoustic at the start. Song kicks in after the first verse. Another decent song that tries to bring a little blues but still just sounds really smooth and produced.

“Long Road Home” — This one has a slower tempo to it. I wouldn’t call it a ballad but the lighters would certainly come out at a live show. Overland’s vocals are hard to describe. They are in a higher register and there isn’t a lot of variance. I would have liked a little more grit and edge at times.

“Be Lucky” — Another mid-tempo track that’s quite catchy. It’s a good track and reminds me of 1985.

“Every Man Needs A Woman” — A little more grit in the opening riff which is nice. Not a bad track, but I’m finding myself looking for some more edge, even on the more edgy tracks.

“Just Got Started” — More of the same here. Not a bad track but still looking for some edge or another big anthem.

“Fight Fire With Fire” — Same here — not bad at all but a lot more of the same.

“Be True To Yourself” — And the album finishes as it starts. Solid track but missing that certain something.

This is a hard band to review. Technically, there’s nothing wrong here. The songs are good, they are well-produced and they have the elements that I like. But something’s missing for me. “Turn This Car Around” is a great track. But other than that, it’s good but not great.

A little more edge would help, both musically and vocally. It sounds very 80s, which isn’t a bad thing for me. Maybe there’s a reason the band never hit it big. They have the ingredients but it just doesn’t click for me.

It’s a good record, it’s just not something that I’ll likely go back to other than the one track.

85 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Shaking The Tree
2. Waiting On Love
3. Talk Is Cheap
4. Turn This Car Around*
5. Love And War
6. Long Road Home
7. Be Lucky
8. Every Man Needs A Woman
9. Just Got Started
10. Fight Fire With Fire
11. Be True To Yourself

*Best Songs