Album Review: Fizz - 'The Secret To Life'
Supergroup FIZZ release their striking debut album record The Secret To Life.
The band consists of solo musicians Orla Gartland, Dodie, Greta Isaac, and Martin Luke Brown, they have already established a sound for themselves, almost like a mix of all their solo work plus 60s harmonies. It certainly works well for them.
High In Brighton was the band’s first single and was released back in June.
The album opens with a spoken word intro titled A New Phase Awaits You, filled with quirky instrumentation. It follows on to the title track, which is flamboyant and full, with lyrics that are tongue-in-cheek, and typically relatable. “It’s textbook repressive behaviour/Bow down to me I’m your saviour” they inform us.
The lead single High In Brighton is next, and it is an incredibly fun track. It opens with vocalisations and acoustic guitar before picking up the tempo and filling out. “I wanna get out of my room, it’s so boring/Crushed under the weight of things I’m ignoring” Orla Gartland delivers, a sigh in her voice. Speaking on the track, Greta Isaac said: “I think lyrically with High In Brighton, it sets the tone for the beginning of this journey-this quest that we’re all going on. It felt so perfect. I love how Beach Boys-esque it is; all of us singing together, and the chorus feels like this huge explosion. It felt like it was the right song.”
It definitely does bring the Beach Boys to mind, with beautiful layered harmonies, something of a theme on this record. It’s a song about wanting to escape the mundanity of your life and do something to make you forget.
Strawberry Jam is an interesting little track, with a great bassline, fuzzy guitar, and sparkling harmonies yet again. It feels like an ode to sitting around and doing nothing with your friends.
The fantastic Close One follows, also a single and it’s clear as to why. It’s very different in tone and theme to the other singles, but probably the most polished. Talking about the process of making the song, the band said: “It was night-time at the studio, and Martin and Mat (drummer and honorary fifth member of FIZZ) we’re up late jamming in the way that only Martin and Mat can. The next morning, they presented their idea to the group and Close One began. It had something interesting, a different feeling to the other songs we had been collecting.” The production on the song is softer, but not lacking in any way and feels perfectly suited to the lyrics. Gartland offers up a stunning vocal performance. Definitely a highlight on the record.
Tracks such as I Just Died and You, Me, Lonely are also on the more vulnerable side. They are both about relationships that you know aren’t good for you, and knowing you need to end them but not quite being able to. “There’s a hole in my heart in the shape of a boy with a fancy guitar” Dodie sings in I Just Died, juxtaposing with “I think of the kids we’ll never have, that’s so sad” in You, Me, Lonely. Both are gentler, acoustic-led, allowing the lyrics to come through and shine.
We then have the interlude Rocket League, led by Brown. I would’ve loved it to have been a full song, with gorgeous piano, 70s vibes and raw vocals.
That leads us to the second single Hell Of A Ride, a song about the ups and downs of life and the emotions that come with navigating everything. “Have a slice of pecan pie/Let me show you where I cry” Brown sings as fuzzy guitar follows him. The chorus is big and euphoric again, then the bridge arrives and is the antithesis of the rest of the song, calm, slow, filled with sounds of nature, until it takes off again. It’s another obvious choice for a single, and is full of energy.
Next is As Good As It Gets, the fourth single, and another highlight on the album. It’s a powerful, emotive song, essentially about being a woman and getting sick of being treated poorly all the time. The intro is intriguing with a kick drum and a guitar riff. The production is subdued until after the first chorus, when it amps up to a whole other level. “Is this as good as it gets?” Greta Isaac asks, her voice roaring, coming back down to land and is met with the guitar and drums that are just as raw, loud, and insistent. “Call me crazy if you wanna/Make my clothes a little tighter” the three women sing.
The closing track, aptly named The Grand Finale is piano led, but builds and contains a cacophony of sounds, mixed with layered harmonies and vocals. This one has 70s vibes about it, even an air of Elton John. It really feels like the perfect way to close this album, and it feels like a full-circle moment, musically.
The Secret To Life is a fantastic debut album, that clearly allows all four band members to shine and do their own thing. Hopefully, we will get to hear more from them in the future.
Words by Lucy Skeet
