Not frightened to stay in one genre, ‘Faux Business‘ bends all the rules and looks back and laughs. It’s a cheeky anthem that looks at the entertainment industry with a hard-looking gaze at the common tragedies that happen. It’s a short number but still gripping and fits a full release perfectly. Radio Vision is primarily Benjamin Stephenson, who’s the master behind it all.
You can truly hear influences of Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, and Bowie prominently throughout the release. It’s like early psychedelic Zappa met up for a coffee with Syd Barrett and Bowie when Bowie was going through his ‘Sound & Vision’ era.
The song itself is a cautionary tale, and as mentioned before, talks about the industry itself and the dark corners it holds. It’s an opinionated industry that, at times, is a true hardship to musicians’ souls.
Musically, it’s hard to say that this is just an Americana song, or a blues, or psychedelic because it’s everything mixed into this tasty cocktail of goodness.
The distorted vocals are hard to hear exactly what Benjamin is exactly saying, but the effect is gripping and certainly suits the song. The vibrato of the vocals feels slightly too much in places making it hard to hear each word.
The tone is a bit harsh in places, but it definitely fits the arrangement of where Radio Vision is heading. Mainly inspired by old Hollywood and all the noir film-worthy tragedy that came with it, I think as an industry the world has grown and is definitely more inclusive.