Review: Super FM - Fuckbird Barnacle

Super FM are three dudes from New York City who play some blisteringly good garage psych that certainly tickles this blogger's pickle. The guys (Zack - Guitar, Nolan - Bass & Joe - Drums) have a new tape / download available that, if you dig some great garage punk, you'll be a fool to miss out on! The tape is released via King Pizza, a rather cool label whose love of music can be seen in their 'mission statement': "King Pizza Records is support, community, and fun. We are not just a label, we are a collective........ We are about creating a scene and building our community." pretty cool eh?

Anyway, to the music. 'Fuckbird Barnacle' (no, me neither!) starts as it means to go on with 'Sludge', the intro of which is heavy with a capital H... a gargantuan riff and plenty of feedback and distortion. When this dies away it is replaced by some frantic garage punk with vocals reminiscent of the much missed Coachwhips...fast and furious garage punk at its best. There is no gloss and no fancy production, and is all the better for that, retaining a rawness that is refreshing. What follows are ten more tracks of ass-kicking garage punk. What sets this album aside from a lot of the garage that is around at the moment is the variety within it. Much like the Wooden Indian Burial Ground album I reviewed a while back, this album isn't just eleven tracks of '1,2,3,4..' - there's much more to it than that. Some are garage stormers ('Hunger Strike, 'I'm Over it'), some have a more Butthole Surfers feel to them ('Bad Day', 'Neighborhood' and 'omgimonfire'), maybe not always the sound but certainly the song structure and feel, while 'Worms' cleverly mixes a lo-fi 'Pavement' approach with some blistering guitars. The frenetic pace is continued through the album, not until we get to 'Black Cigarette Haze', the final track, that there is a let up.....a more downbeat, thoughtful number, with guitars that veer from hazily psychedelic to Bauhaus-like post-punk.

I've gotta say, I really like this album....it is a fun ride packed with attitude, humour and cojones. The guys obviously know their garage history; there are traces of the aforementioned Coachwhips, Thee Oh Sees and The Black Lips as well as the mighty Buttholes. The thing that I really dig about 'Fuckbird Barnacle' (no, still no idea!) is that it is an album recorded completely on the band's terms....no looking over their shoulders at current scenes or movements....it was made because the band wanted to make it...and that's pretty damned cool!. It is available on tape via the King Pizza webstore here or as a download from the band's Bandcamp page. It is also now available from this blog's shop Dayz of Purple.