Almost Free
With their first two albums, FIDLAR cemented their reputation as a quintessential West Coast party band. By pulling influences from garage rock, hip-hop, and skate punk (FIDLAR’s Max and Elvis Kuehn are sons of T.S.O.L.’s Greg Kuehn), they’ve adapted their anarchic pastiche to fit their rage first/ask questions later mentality. But after too many hangovers, the band teased the benefits of mental acuity on 2015’s *Too*—and now, *Almost Free*. Themes of mortality and vulnerability come up often. The quartet measure the time lost to the bottle on “By Myself” (“I never knew it felt good to cry,” goes one line). “Kick” captures a junkie’s remorse. K.Flay joins the search for meaningful connection on “Called You Twice.” They even open their worldview on “Thought. Mouth.,” taking shots at both sides of the political divide. As their temperament matures, so does their sound. “Flake” takes cues from The Black Keys, while “Scam Likely” drops in Memphis-style horns with echoes of CCR. Meanwhile, rowdy throwbacks “Alcohol” and “Get Off My Rock” feel like the last vestiges of FIDLAR 1.0.
A little Gary Glitter, a little Kid Rock, even a little Smash Mouth—the third album from these former California party kids holds nothing back.
The LA garage punks return with album three, an eclectic collection that combines thumping choruses with bracingly frank lyrics
LA punk quartet FIDLAR come of age on inventive, spectacular and shapeshifting third album, Almost Free
Taking the acronym that forms their name ("F*ck it dog, life's a risk") as a literal credo, L.A. garage punks FIDLAR try their best to evolve past the dumb but somewhat endearing slackery of their early days with Almost Free, their difficult third full-length.
Exploring a kind of open-ended, stylistic pastiche-pop-rock informed by more eagle-eyed, worldly songwriting, FIDLAR have expanded their son...
In fact their latest album Almost Free is a little more like an experimental pop masterclass than a rough and ready blast through some simple punk tunes.
Almost Free finds FIDLAR, the SoCal corporate-punks that at one point made endearing and charming pop-punk, ripping off Beastie Boys' worst tendencies and creative scapegoats.
Los Angeles pop-punk outfit Fidlar take a run at satire on their third album 'Almost Free' and... fail.
'Almost Free' by FIDLAR, album review by Adam Williams. The full-length comes out on September 18th via Mom+Pop/Wichita Recordings/Dine Alone Records