Album Details

• Artist: Adorable
• Album: Fake
• Label: Creation
• Year of Release: 1994
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: charlesmartel on 2012-02-21

The difference between Fake and Against Perfection is apparent from the moment the first track, "Feed Me" begins. The album is given a much more professional production job than its predecessor. Now whether that is a good or a bad thing depends on how you like your music. Some music benefits from having a rough edge; other music needs all the edges smoothed off. The difficulty is getting the balance right and for a second album, Adorable have just about got it right. It indicates a clear progression from Against Perfection without losing the essence of what they were through over production.

As a consequence, the tracks on Fake have a more polished edge. They lose none of their dense, melodic sound and none of the quality for it. Listen to "Kangaroo Court" and you will see that the thick, dare I say shoegaze element remains, but without the overpowering wall of raw noise which characterised their first album. And then again, "Have You Seen The Light" closes out the album in the best way possible for a second album of this type. If you are setting yourself up for that epic third album, it is only right that you end the second with one of the best tracks. Like every stupid soap opera episode in the history of the world, ending on a cliff hanger makes you look forward to what comes after.

But in the end, this is a second album in the classic style. It is not as good as Against Perfection mainly due to the fact that the songs are not of generally the same quality. There is no "Sunshine Smile" here, no "Cut #2". What you have is a good album, accessible and well worth listening to many times over. There is, however, one exception. "Road Movie" takes a bit of listening to before it strikes you, but it rewards the effort. Imagine Isadora Duncan meets Grace Kelly:

"So we broke for the border / In an open-topped sports car / Married, in a town just like mine."

Great lyrics, great imagery - I can just see it. (In my mind the first full images this song painted were driving along the corniche of the Cote d'Azur in a Jaguar SS 100 alongside Scarlett Johanssen in a wedding dress).

In the end, although good, Fake is not is a great album. That great album was still to come. Sadly for us all, it never did. Fake therefore stands, together with its predecessor, as a testament to a band who could have been up there among the all-time greats. Sadly, this album is even rarer than Against Perfection if that's possible. At least Against Perfection occasionally makes an appearance on eBay, even if a second hand copy will cost you around 35 quid! I eventually found a copy, after a long search, but given that other artists formerly on Creation have had their albums re-released on other labels, isn't it about time the same thing happened with Adorable?

User Reviews and Comments

on 2011-02-20 CharlesMartel Said:

Second and final studio album from one of the greatest overlooked bands of the nineties.
Rating: 8/10