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”Aphasia” is what happens when you lose the ability to speak, or to remember words, so it seems an odd name choice for a band that doesn’t really seem to have a lot to say. Or, maybe they do, but it’s difficult to tell, since it’s tough to hear through the glistening production to determine if there is real, living, breathing band underneath the gloss. Yes, the players sound very talented, and the vocals have just the right combination of macho gruffness and teary sensitivity. The problem is that they sound as though have taken too much advice from their record company, or their manager, or anybody else who sees Aphasia as their own ticket to fortune and fame. It is rather obvious that the band worked very hard on this album - perhaps much too hard. Everything sounds forced or manipulated to be ‘contemporary’, until it ultimately comes off as faceless.
If the record label’s intent was to create a band that blended seamlessly into the marketplace, they were wildly successful. But is that a good thing? After three attempts, I still can’t make it through the entire disk without having my eyes glaze over. “Fact or Fiction” could have been recorded by hundreds of other bands that are presently clogging up the top 40 (and don’t ask me who they are, because I can’t listen to those bands either). They could be the ‘next big thing’, but it doesn’t help if their originality is sucked out of them. “Fact or Fiction” is perfectly overworked and fussed over until it is ultimately ruined from too much attention.
Maybe the problem is that I’m an old guy who remembers when ‘rock and roll’ meant rebellion, not corporate cow-towing. It’s tough for a middle-aged guy like me to get through a disk like this, so I gave it to my thirteen year-old son and asked his opinion. By track four, he popped it out of his CD player. When I asked why, he said, “I dunno. It sounds like everything else.” Other than that, he had nothing to say. I guess we both have Aphasia.
Grade: 
 
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