Fingertight's CD comes flushed with passion rife with melody and anger. Dense harmonies cradle the tormented vocals while vicious riffs and soothing melodies crash into pacified epic song structures. The band can oddly remind at times a bit of the similar named finger eleven, yet the sound documented here is a bit more stripped down and subversive. A vast vocal range is achieved with notes skillfully held hitting high tones that raise the music to a shimmering plateau, before violently shifting like a storm, scouring them down to a pained angry snarl. Some raspy verbal inflections are utilized along with a few rapid pace lyrical structures that sound heavily rap influenced, yet don't come off sounding in the rapcore vein. For the most part the vocal contributions seem to stem from an emocore meets nu metal standpoint that is actually quite compelling. Guitars are graceful and jump head first into the songs with ardent riffs and some impressive scales and patterns. Medium distortion accompanies the loose playing style that builds up ambiance with spacey tones and effects and off key riffs. Sounding a bit like a more structure oriented version of Primus guitarist Ler, there's a lot to be said for the nuances in the handiwork laid down here. Unexpected alien sounding tones peak through the riffs and add an element of surprise, while the usage of clean and effect laden sounds break way for a solid dynamic package that preys on both of the extremes of emotion. Bass is slightly percussive and has a deeper sound than the other instruments, squeezing out looming riffs that can easily shatter into funk styled tapping and uncommon grooves. Calm for the most part, the solid basslines ensure steady song progression and provide a cushioning for the other members of the band to propel their musical contributions off of. Drums are hectic and pound out impressive beats that hammer the toms and snare into submission. There is lots of snare embellishment utilized and machine gun paced rolls also position themselves in the music plus their encompassing kit usage fortifies the tracks exponentially with snappingly fierce percussion. Perhaps a bit playful the band shows off their fun loving side by including samples from cult comedy movies like Naked Gun and the like, but their real strength comes from their ability to craft large, roomy songs that are crammed with multiple influences and techniques. Where most bands come off sounding ramshackle, this group thrives, incorporating funk, emo, hardcore and even some Egyptian sounding scales into their arsenal for a full bodied auditory assault. But while this is accomplished, the general cognition of each instrument combined together sounds a bit rougher than it should, a bit of tightening up could give the band a more pinpointed attack as their music can at times have the tact of a carpet bombing run. Still, even though the sound is a bit unpolished, the talent the band possesses shows up loud and clear and with a bit more refinement there's no doubt this band will be able to break out of the pack and hit their full stride. Fingertight are an unexpected surprise as their disc takes the listener deep below ground only to burst them back through the surface and propel them to lofty heights, caked with emotion and piloted by an open mind, "Surface" is one hell of a ride.
(4.5 / 5)