Fosh has recently taken Pittsburgh by storm, creating a name for themselves among the local Pittsburgh music scene at venues like the Rea Coffeehouse on Chatham University’s Shadyside campus. After previously releasing an EP and a single, the band has finally released their debut album “Up With The Sun.”
Fosh is made up of a trio of brothers from Northeastern Pennsylvania: Nico, Dante and Chatham student Luca Schwartz ‘27. While the brothers are solely responsible for the songwriting process, Fosh encompasses a larger range of people, such as their drummers. The band credits Stone Magagna and Steve Martin as their drummers, with Magagna often performing live with the group and Martin responsible for most of the recorded drums.
“Up With The Sun” consists of 11 songs and reaches 47 minutes in length. The album consists of songs written throughout the past four years. Fosh’s music is best described as alternative rock, but the boys wear the influences of pop punk and emo music on their sleeves for this album.
The main thing that stood out to me on this album was the guitar. The entire album is littered with powerful and infectious riffs that get stuck in your head. A lot of the time, the guitar knows its role and executes it nicely. I spent a good bit of time listening to this album, imagining myself experiencing these songs live and dancing along. The songwriting is impressive, especially considering the brothers’ ages, with the youngest still in high school.
The band did a great job at choosing their singles, releasing “Winter,” “Somewhere Tonight” and “Staring In The Dark ” as the tracks to represent and get listeners excited for the album before its release. These are no doubt some of the better songs on the album, but what impressed me was the restraint to save some even stronger tracks for the LP. Based on what I heard I went into this album expecting to enjoy it. However, I had some concerns that I had already experienced the best that Fosh had to offer from this collection. This was simply not true, as some of my favorite tracks were yet to be discovered, the most captivating of which is “Sundown Streets.”
That’s not to say the album is without its flaws. At times, I took issue with the decisions made regarding the drums. The drums weren’t unimpressive by any means, but there were moments when I felt they were doing too much. Some tracks on the album would be filled with complex drums fills in spaces where it didn’t feel necessary, distracting me from the rest of the song and taking me out of the experience. Another issue I had was the length of the project. Some of the songs felt like they go on a bit too long with quite a few tracks nearing the five-minute mark.
In addition, a few tracks felt more like filler rather than true substance when placed on an album that contains such standout moments. I also thought that some songs sounded like previous tracks on the album, though I have not yet decided whether to attribute this to cohesion or fatigue. That being said, I don’t think there’s a bad song on the album. I think the worst word I could use to describe a song on here would be boring, and I wouldn’t be able to use that word very often.
With all that being said, what really impressed me about this album is its ability to grow on the listener. On my second listen through, I found myself enjoying certain songs more than I had the first time I heard them, and I feel like this promise of growth will only get stronger the more I listen to this album.
Overall, I really enjoyed “Up With The Sun.” The writing and emotion that shines through is compelling, and the good heavily outweighs the bad. The album keeps up the energy and is incredibly catchy, making it super easy to return to. I’m very impressed with Fosh on their debut album and look forward to see what else the brothers have to offer in the future.
Grade: 7/10
Favorite Tracks: Sundown Streets, Winter, Spinning In My Mind, Somewhere Tonight
Least Favorite Track: Best Thing