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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Finding Fiction’s novel approach

New York band does it all, from writing to booking

Finding Fiction performs tonight at Art, Music and More. (Photo courtesy of Finding Fiction / The Spokesman-Review)
Correspondent

They write, record and release their own music, book their own shows, and control their own destiny. The members of New York’s “Finding Fiction” exude the essence of DIY, and it paid off this year as they completed a cross-country tour to the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, in advance of their debut album.

Self-released in early June, Finding Fiction’s first full-length offering, “Idaho by the Sea,” is a combination of intelligent and infectious songs, built with rising guitar lines and spry rhythms that carry frontman Mario Santana’s heart-held vocals.

Finding Fiction – singer/guitarist Santana, plus guitarist/co-vocalist Joshua Coleman, bassist Tim Farr and drummer Scott Eisenberg – recalls a garaged-out Buddy Holly, or a more reserved version of Longwave, somewhere between the lines that separate pop from indie, or rather connect them.

At times understated, other times anthemic, but completely unpretentious, Finding Fiction laces purist, straight forward rock and roll with subtle explosions and suggestive left hooks that might catch the listener off-guard – if it weren’t so dang danceable.

They don’t hide behind washed out riffs or vocals buried in layers of keyboard squeals. Instead they use selective experimentation to accent the rock-solid, undisturbed grooves.

Even when they strip away the distortion and mellow down the warbles on synth – or take out the drums altogether – the core of a song reveals Finding Fiction’s strength in writing simple and compelling music.

Then they turn on the effects, add a touch of digital drama and bring devil-may-care dynamics to that unassuming melody that dances at the center.

With qualities that are equal parts engaging and unexpected, Finding Fiction is, as Santana states in the band’s bio, a mix of perspiration and inspiration.