Words by: Sam Walker-Smart
In the words of the great Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast,” and it certainly has for musician Mathieu Santos. Fan Fiction is Santos’ second studio album and his first release under his own name since 2011’s Massachusetts 2010. Over the past 14 years, he has experienced significant life changes: navigating a pandemic, becoming a dad, and not to mention his main gig as bassist for Ra Ra Riot. Although basic tracking for the album began in 2015, these delays allowed Santos to regularly revisit the material, tweaking the songs to ensure they remained fresh. Fresh is definitely the optimal word to describe Fan Fiction. It’s a madcap assault of cartoon synths, afro-beat guitar, and psychedelic freakouts. Sound fun?
From the opening bouncing bass notes of “Hi LOL,” it’s clear that Santos’ second LP will not be a timid affair. This album is bursting with energy, propelling forward over its 10 tracks and painting technicolor vignettes along the way. Despite its manic nature, the whole package is gorgeously produced, with each disintegrating snare hit, sleigh bell jingle, and gleeful vocal mixed to perfection. In less capable hands, such a mesh of ideas would become chaotic, but Santos has masterfully achieved the right balance.
The lead single, “Cutting Up An Ox,” is one of the more conservative moments on the record, yet it still features Santos singing surrealist lyrics about staring into mirrors in the dark. The track is the closest Fan Fiction comes to a traditional pop song, but it remains wonderfully weird. Later, “A Certainty” sees the musician channel Italian prog rock legends Goblin and would make a fine addition to anyone’s Halloween playlist—it’s time to give “Thriller” and “Bark at the Moon” a rest.
As the album progresses, it comes to a near stop, slowing down significantly in the latter half. On the album’s highlight, “A Couple Cans of Bud Light,” Santos adopts a more meditative and trippy approach. With its repeated Asian guitar lick and melting spoken word sample, the track draws comparison to the more experimental works of The Flaming Lips. Conceptually, it feels as if the listener has rushed through a stimulating yet exhausting day, only to fall into the strangest of dreams, where fragments from the past 24 hours rear their heads and then drift away.
While it may not be for everybody, Fan Fiction is far from a dull listen. It’s perfect for those with adventurous pop tastes. Psych fans will no doubt get a kick from Santos’ lysergic musical creations. What it lacks in cohesiveness, it makes up for with pure imagination and stellar production. A project that has taken this long to come to fruition could easily have sounded overworked or, at worst, rigid. So, props to Santos for creating a sophomore effort that feels lightfooted and plain fun. If you’re looking for an album to bring a little sunshine to these colder days, get lost in Fan Fiction. It’s a loveable oddball of a record that rewards repeated listens.