Green Fuzz’s first album, “Kicking and Screaming,” feels like a trip back to the old-school basement days of punk music. Lo-fi rippers abound in a promising freshman effort.
Well … maybe it’s a bit more complicated than that.
Punk rock is one of my personal favorite music genres. From DC to SoCal and everywhere in between, wherever there’s cheap beer in sweaty venues, I’ve likely heard it. It’s my wheelhouse.
The thing about punk-influenced music is that it’s not really suited for critical listening. For the uninitiated, this might be a bit jarring, but let’s talk about this record.
What stuck about “Kicking and Screaming” on first listen was the opener, “Real Friends.” When I said that rippers abound, I meant it – the record opens to a soaring Blondie-coded number with enough fuzz and distortion to keep it DIY.
That may be too polite a way to put it. I mean this with love – this album sounds rough in a good way. Sasi Scott’s vocals sound crystal clear over the compressed riff-factory going on in the mix most of the time. This ends up giving the record a live-act quality that, coupled with the punk sensibilities, is what I would call an “acquired taste.”
But here are two facts. One: DIY music isn’t supposed to sound technical; you’ve gotta FEEL it! Two: that’s just track one. For the initiated, there’s plenty left to discover under the hood.
Track two, “Fake Friends,” lands a hard shift into something more akin to Riot Grrrl than New Wave. The band broods and broods until the room seems to explode. This might come as an initial shock, but Green Fuzz sheds musical skins on this record with ease.
The record is actually littered with sounds reminiscent of punk stylings over the last 40 years or so. In songs like “Path through the Tall Grass” or “In My Dreams,” I hear more of the band’s emo influences, while tracks like “Out of Season” evoke the alt-rock 90s in a big way. Even the album cover is delightfully old-school, reminiscent of hand-drawn classics like “Milo Goes to College” or “Kerplunk.”
Point is, if you appreciate the history of alternative music scenes, or if you’re already tapped into the local basement circuit, you will get something out of this album. I, for one, am very excited to see where this band goes in their future projects.
You can find last week’s feature on Trauma Illinois here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!