The Fake Boys, “Pig Factory” LP

cover-fake-boys-pig-factoryThe Fake Boys are one those acts that — like Foo Fighters, American Hi-Fi, or Lit — synthesized the better parts of ’80s power-pop and melded them with ’80s glam metal. The riffs are punchy, fast, and packed more full of hooks than your average tacklebox. At points, listening to Pig Factory, you’re wondering if they had Rick Nielsen locked in a closet somewhere, just cranking out guitar lines for them.

On their Animal Style release, Pig Factory, the vocals are a little thin, which is really unfortunate, given the meaty aspect of the rest of the band. The bass fairly rumbles, the strings just slack enough to give it a hint of Motorhead, and the drumming’s big, but not Tommy Lee drum kit huge. Just a dude who knows how to pound the skins hard, and not use any jazzy accoutrements — it’s a series of simple, propulsive hits.

But, yes: the vocals. All nasal, no diaphragm. It’s a shame. You want some wailing, not whining. When Jim Domenici gets really pissed, just this close to shouting at the end of “Clean Pigs,” you get a sense of what this band could be. I think my issue is that, hearing the instrumentation, I really wanted the vocals to wail. Think the Flys’ “Got You Where I Want You,” without all that “a-ooh-uh” bullshit at the end.

The vinyl’s pretty — 100 on black, 400 on translucent pink. Nice cover. You can pick it up in the Animal Style store.