By Ian Lockwood
Staff Writer
“Too”, Fidlar’s sophomore album, was released on Friday, September 4. The album is a great follow up to their self-released debut “Fidlar”. The album shows the growth of the band and their musical ability, on this album.
Fidlar is a surf/skate punk rock band coming Los Angeles. The band’s music consists of reverbed guitars, power chords, fast drums, and raspy vocals. Compared to their first release, “Too” seems like the band has grown up a little and dipped more into heartfelt music, and away from Skater punk rock about drugs.
The band consists of Zac Carper, lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Brandon Schwartzel, on bass, Elvis Kuehn on lead guitar, and Max Kuehn playing drums. The album was released on Mom + Pop Records and produced by Jay Joyce. It was shocking to see Joyce produce this album because of his background in more pop like projects.
The lyrics talks about problems about growing up, paying bills, working, and stress. But still continues to sing about his problem with substance abuse, girls, and dumb decisions. Another thing he tends to is scream towards the end of songs to give them a dramatic ending. He utilizes his raspy vocals, to help build up the tension of songs and having a build up as each song goes on.
The guitar parts on this album are phenomenal and interesting. The Guitarist, Elvis Kuehn, made amazing riffs and rhythm parts. In the song “Punks”, the riffs have a real rock and roll sound to them reminiscing of The Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin. The guitar melodies in some songs such as “Overdose” and “Bad Habit”, really show the development of their riffs.
A nice surprise to some of the songs were the addition of old synthesizers and creative sounds such as phones ringing. The main synth used on album was an old Mellotron, which was used by bands from The Beatles to David Bowie. The synths were a nice addition to the album and quite a treat to hear the change in Fidlar’s instruments.
The drums on the album are fast, hard, and loud. Throughout the album the drums all start slow then build up to . The track “” Is a perfect example of how they do this with the drums.
The bass lines in some the songs are absolutely amazing. Bassist, Brandon Schwartzel, wrote long and groovy bass riffs. They reminiscent of old punk bands like the Sex Pistols or The tracks “Drone” and “Stupid Decisions” open with some awesome bass riffs.
“Too” shows Fidlar’s maturity musically and how they’ve grown with making better guitar riffs, heavier bass, and better drum fills and is a good listen and definitely would recommend.
The album is being followed by a United States and European tour. The album is available on itunes for $6.99.
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