Almost Free

About

With their first two albums, FIDLAR cemented its 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 <i>Too</i>—and now, <i>Almost Free</i>. 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.

via Apple Music