Faker (band)

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"Faker" redirects here. For the cartoon supervillain, see Faker (character).
Faker

Faker is an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Sydney in 1996. The band consists of vocalist Nathan Hudson, drummer Lucio Pedrazzi, guitarist Stefan Gregory, and bassist Nicholas Munnings.

The band has released two studio albums, and despite forming in 1996, Faker's first studio album Addicted Romantic, was only released in 2005. Prior to that, the band played multiple local gigs, and also released two EPs. In 2007, Faker became a mainstream success with their second album, Be the Twilight, and went on to continue touring nationally.

History

Formation and early releases

Faker were formed in Sydney, Australia, in 1996. It initially consisted of Nathan Hudson, Paul Youdell, Chris Deal, and Andrew Day. The band spent five years performing small gigs around Sydney. They also released two EPs in this time, to minor success.[1] Faker were joined in 2003 by Paul Berryman after the departure of Day. Hudson described this as "the true beginning" for the band.[2] In 2006, Downing left the band, citing communication problems with other members. The band's lineup of Hudson, Berryman, Gregory, and Munnings, remained unchanged after that point until Paul Berryman left in March 2008, being replaced by Lucio Pedrazzi. Damian Cassidy joined also in early 2007. [3]

Addicted Romantic

Faker's debut album, Addicted Romantic, was released on 13 June 2005. The album spent one week, at #44 and the next week at #69, on the ARIA Albums chart.[4] Three singles were released from the album; "The Familiar"/"Enough", "Love For Sale", and "Hurricane". None of these songs made the ARIA Singles chart, but "Hurricane" reached #21 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2005.[5] Addicted Romantic was nominated for the inaugural J Award, won by Wolfmother.[6]

On Addicted Romantic, Faker worked with producer Lindsay Gravina (Magic Dirt) at Birdland Studios,[6][7] shortly after signing to Capitol Records, who would become very supportive of the band's work.[8] The album was heavily influenced by sexual motifs, with Hudson commenting "The first track on the record is about casual sex and confusion through sex". Rather than treat sex as "wrapped up in cotton wool", the band intended to be open, upfront, and aggressive in their discussion of the topic.[8]

Be the Twilight

Faker's second album, Be the Twilight, was released on 17 November 2007. It has thus far peaked at #24 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart.[4] The first single from the album released was; "This Heart Attack", on 27 October. The song has peaked at #9 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and also reached #5 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2007.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). The second single, "Are You Magnetic", was digitally released on 12 July 2008.[9]

Be the Twilight was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Paul Fox (XTC, Björk, The Sugarcubes, They Might Be Giants).[3] The band wrote 45 songs for the album before traveling to Los Angeles, where they trimmed this down to 12.[10] The songs were influenced by the band's surroundings at the time of recording, with Hudson stating "[t]here’s a whole directness that exists in L.A. and I kind of feel that we put that in the record".[11] Hudson said that after "putting all the things you’ve ever experienced" into Addicted Romantic, the band were able to record Be the Twilight "more in the moment."[10] Be the Twilight took its name from Hudson's fear of the dark; Faker insisted they "name the album after the twilight just to annoy him".[12] Following the release of Be the Twilight, Faker embarked on an album tour, playing with fellow bands Children Collide and E.L.F.[13] The tour commenced on 15 November 2007.[12]

Critics responded to Be the Twilight in different ways. Triple J rated it highly, stating the band "has made a record that will instantly please fans".[14] Likewise, Webcuts Music awarded it 4.5 (out of 5) saying "Faker are one of the few exciting and honest, heart-on-sleeve acts that exist in Australia. Be The Twilight is almost perfection".[15] FHM saw it as "less annoying" than Addicted Romantic, but still only gave it three stars.[16] thescene.com.au also had mixed feelings, stating that in the album, Faker didn't "come close to capturing the same magic as their debut".[17]

Discography

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