Album Review: Ten Fé’s “Future Perfect, Present Tense”
Every human being, at least once in their mind, lives in the future. For most of us, the future is this mystical location where issues are no longer had, dreams really do come true, and relationships are surreally perfect. Though such an idea is a COMPLETE delusion, it is one of the hardest ideas to crush, especially when it comes to joy and love. Thus, for Ten Fé, Future Perfect, Present Tense speaks to the realization that the dreams you lay out for the future become blanketing nightmares to your present.
When you, literally, keep thinking and obsessing over places you can’t go to, time-frames you can’t reach, and people you cannot please, misery becomes your company. Tracks like, “Won’t Happen,” “Not Tonight,” “Coasting” and “Echo Park” have all gotten many features as singles, which is curious because they speak to my point and thus to listeners. For Ten Fé, we treat now like it is the wrong time because “the future” is the right one, but if the present was yesterday’s tomorrow then why do we still not live it fully. Such stark, melancholic verses are expected from the duo of Leo Duncan and Ben Moorhouse whom love a sad song over a spontaneous, pop beat.
For Ten Fé, emotional frankness and lyrical melodrama have nothing to do with making a beat as danceable as possible. It is up to the listener to observe and absorb what they want from a song, which seems similar to their life’s motto. Thus, songs such as, “No Night Lasts Forever,” “Superrich,” Caught On The Inside,” and “To Lie Here Is Enough” give honest, sentimental verses on what it is to really want to be present and make your reality dreamy to yourself, but still feel like the dreams you hold in you head for that “one day” are more enticing. Such a dilemma is amplified by the harmonies between Moorhouse and Duncan, whom amber and sulfur their harmonies to make them feel like a pyre smoking through their combustive, virtual sonics.
Ironically, Future Perfect, Present Tense sounds retro. Every key and synth could come with 80’s sticker latched onto it, of which both vocalists even annotate their voice like they are members of The Police or The Cure. They can vocally carry a symphonic heaviness that, again, matches their lyrical themes of disconnection over a beat that makes you fully bonded with rhythm. To Buy Ten Fé’s Future Perfect, Present Tense Click Here.
