Fake Laugh is the solo project from Kamran Khan, who has played with artists such as Oscar as well as being in the touring band for The Japanese House. Fake Laugh’s debut is filled with sounds of love and elation which conjures up something very real and emotional that taps its way into you. The album goes from strength to strength right from the beginning. Opening with ‘Melt’, the album goes on to hit a series of home runs. What gets me about the album is the sense of euphoria it manages to convey to the listener. I don’t think this is its direct intention, but the way Kamran Khan sings manages to capture a blissful vibe, which is the perfect counterpart for his own instrumentation.

I don’t think it’s trying to be anything other than itself, and I don’t think the feelings I’m taking away from it are necessarily intentional either. It’s an album where the listener will take away whatever they find from it.

What I really love about the album is its romanticism. ‘Kinda Girl’ has a really beautiful vocal melody behind it. Kahn clearly has a lot of tricks up his sleeve but doesn’t over use them. There’s a real sense that he knows how to serve the music very well. The songs are very well balanced and there’s a feeling of exploration to them, each one has its own identity and yet they manage to all sit together very well.

The album is easily comparable to Mac DeMarco. Songs like ‘Kinda Girl’ and ‘Short of Breath’ have those instantly recognisable tinges of Mac. However, I think the album leans more towards sounding like The Smiths in the way the songs are constructed. The way Khan blends his vocals along with the jangling guitars is something that brings to mind Morrissey and Marr. He has a beautiful sweeping vocal, which counters the guitars perfectly. Behind all the guitar instrumentation, there’s a 12-string acoustic guitar cementing the instrumentation together, an arrangement which is very Marr-esque.

‘Hiding Place’ and ‘Freely’ work really well in changing the tone of the album halfway through. Things get a little more developed and there is definitely a change of feel in this half. ‘Wouldn’t Bother’ has all the elements of earlier tracks on the album, but it just has a completely different tone to it. Its chord progression is much simpler and is put together in a way that makes it sound like a straight up pop song. You can hear where the song’s going to go before it happens. I think this would be a misfire if it were placed in the track listing early on, but it fits in very well with the second half’s change of pace.

I do think the album does suffer slightly from its track listing. The first half is absolutely brilliant, which sadly leaves the second half struggling a little to match up to it. The album starts off so strong and so mesmerising that the latter tracks start to lose a smidge of the earlier magic. However, there are great moments throughout. The album ends on ‘Time To Die’ which works really well as a closer, it sounds like a summary of everything on the album and brings you back round again to the themes at the beginning.

Fake Laugh, serves as a really nice piece of escapism; Khan’s songwriting has the ability to remind you of the beauty in the world. Corny as that may be, it is an incredibly warming album and comes across as joyful, ‘As I Get To Know You Better’ being a really good example of this.

The album, which I’ve been listening to for a few weeks now, really has staying power. Its hooks are subtle, yet I’ve found myself singing terrible versions of ‘Kinda Girl’ when I’m alone, which is something that I very rarely do. I think the album is a very strong introduction to a very promising songwriter.

Chris Middleton

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