Fidlar ‘That’s Life’

Four years can feel like a lifetime, and in few places are 48 months so keenly felt as in punk rock. You can do a lot of growing up in that time, could end up drinking a lot less alcohol and, at least in terms of this particular genre, get a lot more boring. 

 But that’s not the case with FIDLAR, who pick up where they left off to mostly good effect. That’s Life follows 2019’s Almost Free and from the arrangements right down to the production it’s clear the Californian band have musically matured and moved on up, but the lyrical thread of being broke and wasted hasn’t slackened in the slightest.

 

And that’s the record’s blessing and its curse; the six tracks they’ve turned out for this EP are glorious to a note, exhilarating slices of classic punk rock butting up against 2023’s angular IDLES-esque take on the genre, but listen too closely to Zac Carper’s vocals and the constant, ceaseless references to drugs just get a bit tedious. Yes, that’s the point of FIDLAR – which after all stands for “fuck it dawg, life’s a risk” – and it would be a travesty if the band had returned all grown up with the straightest of edges, but it’s hard not to think that at least one track could forego the fentanyl or pass on the pills. 

 

Because the tunes are good here, seriously good. Lead single ‘FSU’ sleazed the band back onto the scene with a lead-heavy stomp, the breakneck bass-led ‘On Drugs’ explodes from comparatively restrained verses into a joyful Basement Jaxx interpolation (“where’s your head at???”) and ‘Centipede’ strikes a perfect Weezer-y balance between shambolic and powerful.

 

FIDLAR won legions of devoted fans by telling us how much life sucks when you get sober, so when all’s said and done it’s probably for the best that they haven’t cleaned up much, regardless of this reviewer’s misgivings. Lyrical quibbles aside, That’s Life is one of the best cuts of punk rock served up so far this year.

Words - Joe Ponting

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