Fono
San Diego, California11 reviews across 2 releases
Fono was an English alternative rock band formed outside London in 1996 as Seven, then renamed in 1998. Del Currie's restrained, Bono-like croon sat above music that began as raw, performance-led rock before developing into the tightly produced sound of Goesaroundcomesaround. The album combined guitar-driven modern rock with electronic touches, bright mixes, and strong pop hooks. Hard-edged songs such as "Collide" and "Under My Skin" stood beside quieter material including "Now She's 24," whose Christian subject was handled with unusual directness and little preaching. Reviewers disagreed about the songwriting's distinctiveness: some heard familiar post-grunge formulas, while others found the melodies buoyant and the lyrics carefully constructed. Fono's characteristic tension was between accessible European pop-rock and a harder live attack.
In 1996, Seven won a competition that made its first live performance an opening slot for Bon Jovi before roughly 50,000 people at Milton Keynes. The band changed its name to Fono, signed with Reunion Records, and saw Goesaroundcomesaround attract attention in Europe before label restructuring complicated its American release. Fono moved to San Diego in 2000, where a legal dispute kept the group from recording for more than two years. In October 2003, California wildfires destroyed the band's studio, equipment, and the computer files containing its unfinished follow-up. Fono rebuilt the studio and re-recorded the material for It's The Way That You Use It, released in 2004. The band later issued Too Broken to Break in 2007. Del Currie subsequently recorded a solo album as Zoo Seven in 2010.
2 releases reviewed
It's The Way That You Use It