FACS - Wish Defense - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The duality of InchmanInch is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your Inchtrue selfInch & what do they want? With their sixth studio album InchWish DefenseInch (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves. The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album InchNegative HousesInch was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band's more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik's original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group's guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band's dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio's long-going collaboration with some distance and time. Case notes that the lyrics on InchWish DefenseInch revolve around doppelgängers or InchdoublesInch, tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album's title track; InchEnter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / PerformanceInch. Case lays out the entire album's theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that InchotherInch person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is Inch... don't let the bastards get you down, there's some