Take Care to Fail falls somewhere in between the niche genres of no wave and freak folk. A lot of this disc sounds like what would happen if college students talked for an hour without knowing it was being recorded.
"Silent Duty" is shoegazer indie folk pop, while "Fractured" takes even more of a minimalistic, ethereal tack, backed by a haunting, breathy female vocal. "No One Knows" features mumbled vocals, and a jangly guitar track, sort of an early R.E.M.-lite. The string section on the latter sounds almost Chinese.
The best of this disc is during the (unnamed) female vocalist's singing. At other times, it feels like the group is sitting back and waiting for us to get the joke. Take Care to Fail suffers from being (or attempting to be) the new "hip", where you either aren't cool enough to understand, or it immediately strikes a chord. Put me in the uncool section -- I'll be over here with the rest of the black coffee drinkers.
