More Than Just a Dream
This six-piece Los Angeles pop-soul group, led by studio engineer-turned-singer-songwriter Michael Fitzpatrick, is all about irrepressible energy: hopped-up rhythms, shout-it-out choruses, hooted background vocals. On their 2010 debut, Pickin' Up the Pieces, FATT were soul revivalists, and though you can still hear plenty of Motown in the beat and the booming production, they've tossed in lots more: hip-hop, electro, jittery New Wave and even a dash of Mumford & Sons in their shouty choruses. But the pleasures of the songcraft don't quite compensate for dopey lyrics, the bland vocals of Fitz and co-lead singer Noelle Scaggs, and the relentless spazzing-out.