Critics Choice: Fiancé

By AARON LADAGE

MP3: Fiancé, “TwentySomething“, from Please, Ambitious, Please (Twenty Something Records)

Calling Fiancé’s latest EP, Please, Ambitious, Please, an unapologetically pop record wouldn’t be a bad descriptor, except for one thing: the Denver-native foursome has nothing to be sorry for in the first place. Sure, there are a few obvious blemishes on the surface (particularly when lead singer Patrick McGuire’s nasally vocals reach a little too deep into the emo cookie jar), but a closer inspection reveals a melodic, hook-driven songwriting style that sounds a bit like Ben Folds trying to cover Explosions in the Sky. Does the world need another cut-and-paste piano-pop band? Probably not – and that’s what makes Fiancé so damn refreshing.