punkrawka's Full Review: Around the Fur [PA] by Deftones
The most-repeated comment about the Deftones in 1997 was probably "Who???" But as Around the Fur's hit singles "My Own Summer (Shove It)" and "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" began to saturate the radio market, it became clear just who the Deftones were. And love them or hate them, people quickly learned to admit that they were good at what they were doing.
Around the Fur was the Deftones' sophomore album, coming on the heels of their underground success on Adrenaline. Beginning their move up the ladder, the 'tones traded a little bit of screaming for a little bit of production (landing the masterful Terry Date) and just a dash of refinement, making this sophomore album an exercise in stretching the band's sense of dynamics and writing more accessible, flowing tunes. And that's precisely what they succeeded at doing.
The album rips open with "My Own Summer (Shove It)," an angry tune that still manages to ebb and flow, with the guitars moving in and out appropriately, and the whole package crushing the listener with the layered screams of the chorus: "Cloud, come / (shove it, shove it, shove it) / Shove / (shove it, shove it, shove it) / The sun / (shove it, shove it, shove it) / Aside / (shove it aside)." It takes only a cursory listen to this track to decide whether or not the entire album will be for you. Those who can handle vocalist Chino Moreno's piercing scream will likely notice the brilliant, flowing riff upholding the track, while a good number of listeners will shortly cringe and turn off their CD players. Essentially, it quickly becomes clear that Around the Fur, objective merits aside, is an album for fans of heavy music only. Most others need not apply.
The album continues with "Lhabia," a slightly creepy tune with harshly whispered vocals during its verses and highly sung choruses: "Dying of boredom / I'll try it all," croons Moreno with some of the best singing talent he possesses. Other standout tracks that emphasize singing rather than screaming include "Dai the Flu," which ebbs in and out of whispered verses and builds up to screams only near its passionate finish ("What a surprise / I was right here / Going off, going on," sings Moreno to an obviously embittered love object), as well as "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)," a simple tune musically with a captivating set of lyrics and a solid song structure that guides itself into an intense, battering finish as the instruments punch in and out in unison. The only failure to use melody well here occurs with "Mascara," a meandering tune where Moreno's voice comes off rather harshly and the instrumentation fails to build to anything noteworthy.
None of this should be taken to say that the album denies itself a moment of absolute fury. "Lotion" is an aggressive tune where, in a juxtaposition of the norm, the verses are loudly screamed and the choruses are sung. "I meant to come back to put out bliss / But the style is crumbling, covered, canned / It was sick and oh, you don't even know / Comes in shifts and gets ruined by you f*cking slobs," rages Chino right at the song's opening. One of the most brilliant moments on the album comes a frustrating 32 minutes into the last CD track, in the form of the secret track, "Damone." The song's riff is intense and captivating, and points each element of the track clearly into the song's choruses, where Moreno and bassist Chi Cheng trade screams into near oblivion. Finally, the title track "Around the Fur" features exceptional drumming from drummer Abe Cunningham, holding the rest of the band to an intriguing tempo that's executed perfectly throughout the verses, driving the song into its furious choruses.
Around the Fur was the album that catapulted the Deftones into the spotlight, and for a lot of good reasons. In an era when new heavy music was being pioneered mainly by KoRn, the Deftones created music that flowed like old-school punk, screamed like hardcore, and created a lot of sounds that were purely their own. The album carries limited appeal -- fans looking for a more polished record would do much better to check out 2000's White Pony -- but taking it at its own face value, it's a brilliant piece of work. Heavy music listeners can do themselves an enormous favor by checking out this album.
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