FidlarA supposedly edgy acronym for 'Fuck It Dog, Life's A Risk', FIDLAR would certainly put some potential listeners off giving the band a decent chance. But, for those who can get past that, FIDLAR the album is pretty mother-flipping great. The record is full of drug- and booze-fuelled party lyrics like “10 o'clock stuck in traffic/Takin' bong rips in the back seat” (5 to 9) and “Get pissed and bombing hills/Cocaine and shitty pills” (Stoked And Broke), that will be sure to have even liberal types contemplating Helen Lovejoy-esque, “won't somebody think of the children” moments.
For what it is though, FIDLAR is a lot of fun and will surely appeal to teenagers and teenagers-at-heart. Evoking the Ramones and Andrew WK, with a heady dose of west coast surf culture, the 14 tracks that make up the album fly by in under 40 minutes. It's easy to believe that the four members are young 20-somethings that have been throwing themselves around the US since only 2009.
For a debut record, though, FIDLAR is delivered with a bit more professionalism than the band would probably have listeners believe. Mixed by Rob Schnapf (Powderfinger, Dr Dog), there's an underlying sense of control beneath the anarchy. It's as though, at some stage in the past year or two, FIDLAR realised that if they want to play music for a living – and really, who wouldn't – then they need to take it seriously.
Sure, the members all clearly love to get fucked up, but they have toed a line straight enough to get signed to a major label and give themselves a shot at the big time. Just ignore the name.
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