FIDLAR

Vinyl Records and Rare LPs:

Almost Free
Colored Vinyl - Used - MP384
2019 Limited Edition Release On Green Vinyl Still In Shrink-Wrap With Custom Hype Sticker. "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. For A Band Whose Primary Themes Involved Getting Baked, Getting Wasted, Skating, And Partying, The Growing Pains That Come With Trying To Be Taken More Seriously Are Going To Be Tough. Their Spotty Sophomore Release, 2016's Too, Wrestled With Frontman Zac Carper's Newfound Sobriety In The Face Of The Group's Chosen Lifestyle And Typical Subject Matter; On Almost Free, They Further Complicate Things By Introducing Some Politics And Social Commentary Into The Mix. To Their Credit, Fidlar Have Made Legitimate Attempts To Get Out Of Their Creative Comfort Zone And Go Somewhere New. That Said, Almost Free Is Somewhat Of A Mess. Recording At Hollywood's Legendary Sunset Sound With Ricky Reed (Jessie J, Twenty One Pilots), Fidlar Strike Out In A Variety Of Different Directions, Landing Some New Tricks But Slamming A Lot More. The Result Is A Scattershot Collection That Just Doesn't Hang Together Very Well. Gentrification-railing Opener "Get Off My Rock" Is A Well-intended Misfire That Would Sound More Dangerous If Its Edgy Rap-rock Didn't Sound So Faithfully Close To The Beastie Boys' Signature Sound. Some Of The More Streamlined Rock Tones Introduced On Tracks Like "Can't You See" And The Horn-laden "Scam Likely" Hit Their Marks More Closely, But The Slicked-up Party-pop Grooves Of "By Myself" And "Thought. Mouth.," Plus The Irritating Screen-decrying Rant "Too Real," Just Can't Seem To Figure Out What They Are -- Which Is Essentially Where Fidlar Find Themselves On This Tough Outing." AMG - Timothy Monger. more

Too
Used - Vinyl - MP288-1
2015 US original pressing housed in a custom die-cut jacket. VG++ vinyl. "When L.A. garage punks FIDLAR emerged in 2013 with their self-titled debut, they were lauded for their mix of classic SoCal punk (Circle Jerks, Descendents, Fear, etc.) and brash, melodic indie jangle with occasional clamorous surf tones. That first slab introduced their fuck-all world-view of cheap beer, cheap drugs, skating, surfing, and partying, and, in spite of its abrasive and somewhat simplistic subject matter, was a pretty fun ride. In guitarist/singer Elvis Kuehn and drummer Max Kuehn, sons of L.A. staple Greg Kuehn (T.S.O.L., X), the band had a bona fide West Coast punk pedigree, and in frontman Zac Carper they also had a raging junkie, both adding different aspects to their mystique. On their sophomore outing, 2015's Too, FIDLAR make efforts to evolve their sound and confront their demons, all while continuing to uphold their credo of "fuck it, dog, life's a risk," the phrase implied by their acronymic band name. Chalk it up to growing pains and the hand dealt by living hard, but Too is definitely a mixed bag. After a harrowing two years of out-of-control heroin addiction and depression, Carper finally managed to clean himself up midway through recording and the influence of his newfound sobriety weaves incongruously among the party anthems that were FIDLAR's stock-in-trade the first time around. Carper's life change manifests itself well on the creepy acoustic dirge "Overdose," though not so well on the misguided "Sober," which tries to shed a comedic light on his issues but merely comes off as irritating. Elsewhere though, Too benefits from the efforts of producer Jay Joyce, who injects some rock muscle into standout cuts like "40 oz on Repeat," "Why Generation," and "Hey Johnny," highlighting the band's versatility and knack for nuance. While parts of Too show FIDLAR trying to find their footing, it's all part of their evolution and is not without its charms." All Music Guide – Timothy Monger more