New to our blog thanks to their first album release in 30 years, THE GETTING PRETTY are a band going through their second spring with Fainted.

By Graeme Smith

After some initial success in the ’90s, THE GETTING PRETTY split in 1995. In 2024, they reformed as a trio before dropping this comeback album. The band are quick to point out that their new album is meant as a journey which needs to be enjoyed in its entirety from start to finish, so I shall review it as such.

The journey starts with Life Control and we are instantly drawn in by an isolated, psychedelic riff. As the track goes on, it builds with a certain grungy melancholia which pays tribute to the band’s ’90s roots, all while feeling somehow modern. I suppose everything comes back around again.

Upn Down brings with it a beautiful sense of movement to back its storytelling lyrics. 4 Sale has a machine gun tempo and plenty of bite. Hatmaker keeps the energy up during an atmospheric moment before title track Fainted provides a lingering, paranoid highlight.

The Girl is a track full of longing while Low lets it all go with a powerful, slow-burning number that’s full of catharsis. When The World Stood Still closes the album on an outward-looking note, holding up a mirror to our society.

Despite the 30 year pause and the change of line-up, THE GETTING PRETTY feel like they’re picking up where they left off with this new album. There’s plenty of ’90s nostalgia mixed in with its modern rock edge.

Fainted is out now and you can give it a listen below.