Fentanyl : Fentanyl
Fentanyl‘s sophomore, self-titled album is an odd sum of its parts, combining some of the more unlikely elements from the main projects of the musicians involved, including members of Spiritual Cramp, SPY, and World Peace. Spiritual Cramp evolved from the punk scene into a more of an indie rock band, while both SPY and World Peace remain rooted in the aggressive nature of the hardcore scene.
What unfolds here is reflective of that combination of elements, as evident by the group’s jangly, distortion-pedal-free guitar played with a hyperactive grind core-like aggression. There is a feeling that this project allows the band’s members the kind of freedom similar to when they were teenagers, to be loud and defiant with none of the expectations attached to their other bands. Yet the challenge this presents is cramming the finer points of songwriting into pieces that are only one minute long.
The bulk of the songs on Fentanyl’s second LP are brief eruptions of a rowdy clamor. Raw-boned ideas thrown at you from the speaker. On a song like “Further” it’s up to the driving bass line to establish the backbone that the song requires. Yet the group often throws chaos back in the face of the listener, which then prompts the question of what’s more important here: the principle of punk or infectious songs, as the group are certainly prioritizing attitude. The album is driven by momentum, and if any of these songs came up on shuffle, it might stick out as an abrasive outburst that’s bright in sound despite its in-your-face approach.
There are moments on this album where more of the focus is on the songwriting rather than raw aggression, “Detached” being one of the standouts in this regard. Even then it’s not likely to be that accessible to non-punk audiences as the vocals are delivered in an inarticulated, brash scream, just as raw as the music being made. The two minutes of “Spiral” is the most time they invest in a song; if this were a grindcore band, that would be pretty typical, so given their musical history it’s easy to understand this approach.
“It Gazes Back” is another minute of chaos rushed, though the bass remains present to guide the way off this cliff, and predictably “Silver Hour” speeds up into a crashing of chords. You might not walk away from this one thinking these tunes are going to stand the test of time in the same way Minor Threat or Discharge has, but it’s hard not to at least respect the willingness to step out of their collective comfort zones and try something different. It’s a new sound per se, as Fentanyl’s music recalls a great deal of early punk, and stays true to many of those tropes in terms of their outbursts of anger. Nonetheless, I can’t fault the band indulging in the youthful feeling of purging their energy into these songs—this is what punk is all about.
Label: Convulse
Year: 2024
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