[rating=2.50]
No one can accuse Kristian Hoffman of playing it safe. Rather than aping the trends of current pop music, Hoffman draws his influences from 60’s rock and pop, theater and even vaudeville on Fop. Hoffman imagines himself a modern-day David Bowie and spends large portions of the album trying to live up to that self-billing. At times it works – such as in the glam rock of “Mediocre Dream” – at times, not.
Fop is as eclectic as it is imaginative, but its moments of brilliance are canceled out by moments of outlandishness that cross the line from innovative to kitschy. Hoffman doesn’t shy away from the taboo, with songs that cover sodomy (“Evil”), rail against the religious (“Mocking Bird”) and blatantly mock Jesus (“Hey Little Jesus Get Out of That Hole”). An album as diverse and daring as Fop may not live up to its expectations, but it will for sure find a home in the ears of Hoffman’s true fans.
