Fidlar, or for those in the know “fuck it dog, life’s a risk”, are the type of band that could not suit their name more perfectly if they tried. It’s all very skater dude, badass, fun in the sun. Their self-titled debut album almost smells like a dingy garage that’s recently been made into a hotbox.
It has to be, then, a testimony to their determination that despite their chilled attitude, there is absolutely no lapse in the energy of the album; every song is charged to the max with an almost pre-adolescent level of testosterone, although each song is structured cleverly, allowing for a small break inbetween the relentless charges of guitar riffs, with a lot of post-headbanging guitar feedback.
The lyrical content is pretty easy to read: Stoked and Broke(“I just wanna get really high, smoke weed until I die. I don’t ever want to get a job. I fucked up, hey, nothing’s wrong”), No Waves (“I feel, feel like a cokehead, I feel, feel like I can’t get drunk no more”) and Cheap Beer (the chorus is simply “I DRINK CHEAP BEER SO WHAT FUCK YOU”. Need I say more.) That’s what Fidlar are all about, though: the traditional, simple sex and drugs and rock and roll (mainly drugs with a bit of alcohol thrown in for good measure); it’s suitably fitting that their lyrics aren’t overly complicated or unnecessarily poetic. How much poetry can you realistically make out of smoking weed?
What I really love about Fidlar, though, is the classic and much needed quality to their music. Their riffs are really, really good. The drum parts are really, really good. Everything about the music is really, really good. It’s not as though the music is particularly original or outstandingly game-changing, but there’s something about it that’s quite vibrant in the way that they piece the music together. They’ve got just the right amount of whatever it is that makes their music rebellious enough to be cool, but have held back just as it tips over into the verge of extreme. Balance is certainly everything.
On first sight, Fidlar appear to be reckless pothead skaters who exude the sort of fuck-it vibe you could only dream of. That’s what they are. There are no hidden meanings or secrets to Fidlar. What you see is what you get. Sort of refreshing in a way.
