Ultimate Fakebook

Ultimate Fakebook fused the melodic punch of 1970s acts such as Cheap Trick with the sardonic bite of 1980s indie outfits like the Replacements, yielding an emo pop sound that produced two overlooked yet enduring albums. The 1999 set This Will Be Laughing Week and the 2002 album Open Up and Say Awesome attracted little notice upon release, yet their appeal endured, and the trio demonstrated undiminished command when they reconvened in 2020 to issue The Preserving Machine.

The band originated in Manhattan, Kansas, in 1994 after guitarist/vocalist Bill McShane and bassist Nick Colby joined drummer Eric Melin, formerly of Truck Stop Love, to launch local performances. They cut the six-song cassette Visitors from the Sky soon afterward and kept sharpening their power trio approach. National touring and a growing audience were already underway by the time they tracked their debut album, 1997’s Electric Kissing Party. Following the 1999 appearance of This Will Be Laughing Week, 550/Epic Records signed the group and reissued that album in 2000. Nonstop road work with Motion City Soundtrack, Nada Surf, and the Get Up Kids led into the 2002 release of Open Up and Say Awesome on the independent label Initial. One additional effort, the 2003 EP Before We Spark, preceded their breakup.

McShane withdrew entirely from music while Melin launched an air guitar career as the members went separate ways. They played a handful of reunion shows in 2008 and self-released the rarities collection Daydream Radio Is Smiling Static in 2010. Another decade of inactivity followed, aside from McShane forming the power pop group the Pride of Erie, PA, which issued an EP in 2013, before the trio reunited on a more permanent basis to record their fourth album. Working again with producer Ed Rose, who had helmed This Will Be Laughing Week, the band restored the potent pop drive of their early work and brought added lyrical maturity to the sessions. Sonic Ritual Recordings issued The Preserving Machine in April of 2020.