Review: Fidlar – ‘Too’


fidlarsmall

Fidlar‘s 2013 self-titled debut album is perhaps the rowdiest rock n’ roll album in recent memory.

In a riotous forty minutes, the L.A. four-piece brashly embraced their skate-punk moniker “F**k It Dawg, Life’s a Risk” with party anthems such as ‘Cheap Beer’ and ‘Wake Bake Skate‘. It was a record about getting f**ked up, but Zac Carper’s sincere and melodic songwriting gave the songs a raw honesty and substantive edge.

The melodies were hooky, the songs were exhilarating, but most importantly it was self-aware.

Too‘ comes after a turbulent period of depression and addiction, in which Carper finally managed to get clean midway through the recording sessions. Recorded in Nashville with session musician/songwriter turned producer Jay Joyce, ‘Too’ sees Fidlar adapting an alternative styling to their previously raw garage sound – but that doesn’t mean that they’ve lost any of their punk gusto.

Following in their debut’s footsteps, ‘Too’ cracks open and foams with an ode to shitty alcohol on the delectably bratty ‘40oz On Repeat‘. Joyce’s presence is immediately felt as he helps to add focus whilst also adding breadth and depth to Fidlar’s sonic palette by inserting acoustic guitars and nibble baked surf leads. Carper’s cheeky vocal delivery has never been more explicit or as dynamic. He’s learned how to harness his angst while adding personality to it. He still shouts like nobody is around, but he’s learned how to inflect his vocal, making for a more memorable frontman and a stronger singer.

Melodically, the songs are aimed to reach higher and further compared to the jittery coked-out melodies that were on the debut. The dynamically charged ‘Why Generation’ combines the belting melodic power of the Pixies with the zany stoner vibes of Pavement. ‘Hey Johnny’ struts and beams with glam rock leads and a soaring melody sung by lead guitarist Elvis Kuehn.

The drunken, snotty country-tinged ballad ‘Stupid Decisions’ will split fans with overtly clumsy tone and goosey chorus, but with the help of Joyce and propelling drumming from Max Kuehn, the song rides off into the sunset with a fantastic coda, complete with a delightful honky-tonk piano hook.

Kuehn’s monstrously gnarly riff rips open and bolsters the riot filled ‘Punks’ making it one of Fidlar’s finest and most memorable tunes to date. “Well I’m still alive and you are too. I still can’t get myself outta you”, screams Carper as Kueh’s riff roars with a towering sense destruction, proving that the band hasn’t lost its coarse garage rock timbre. The gloriously anthemic ‘West Coast’ beams like a Californian afternoon, giving the album its brightest and most joyous moment. Pure power-pop perfection. Both tracks are re-recordings of older fan favorites, but Joyce inserts new life by adding a bluesy tinge to ‘Punks’ and a fleshed out bridge on ‘West Coast.’



Fidlar do not change their subject matter much, but they do begin to look at their boozy haze through a different lens; the creeping acoustic dirge ‘Overdose’ details Carper’s battle with addiction and the harrowing affects of withdrawal. “I’m just gonna crawl back inside my bed, I’m just gonna stay stuck inside my head,” he narrates as the musical static around him twists and fizzles in and out, before finally bumbling to a heavy finish.

The album’s weakest track – ‘Sober’ – nevertheless features a solid sing-along chorus, but the tongue-in-cheek verse sing-speak comes across as a little too bratty, and its stop-start glitch rhythm and production makes the song more annoying instead of more interesting. ‘Leave Me Alone’ picks up the quality though by juxtaposing a strutting guitar hook against Carper’s scarred and frantic psyche. With a memorable chorus and a magnetic vocal performance from Caper, look out for it to be a live favorite.

The buzzy ‘Drone’ and self-depreciating ‘Bad Medicine’ each provide an extra shot of adrenaline midway through with their throwback, no frills punk approach. It also gives the audience a glimpse at the steady songwriting chops of Kuehn and bassist Brandon Schwartzel.

Fidlar has always been drunkenly self-aware of indulging in their vices, but on the album’s fantastic closer ‘Bad Habits’ there is a clearheaded moment of self-realization, where Carper uncovers some sort of peace through recognizing his own destructive nature. ‘Too’ is four punks who have noticeably matured, personally and musically, over the past few years.

Might as well, because “F**k It, Dawg, Life’s a Risk.”

(Trey Tyler)


Learn More