FIDLAR - Down N Out

 

1. Who are FIDLAR?

FIDLAR are an influential garage/punk/surf rock band from Los Angeles, California. They have played together since 2009 and have never managed to better their high-tide mark of the lead single from their second album 40 Oz On Repeat (2015). Down N Out (July, 2024) is one of a few singles from their fifth album Surviving The Dream (Sept, 2024). 

2. What has Down N Out got going for it? 

Down N Out is a little bit of a return to form, a sweet surf-pop Beach Boys-style tune done by a garage band that have lost relevance and the sun is setting down on their backs. The spoken-word breakdown is putrid and indicative of a band stripped clean of ideas.  The lyrics are fucking whiny too. But all told Down N Out isn't completely vile; it remains passable for the intro that has a spectral sense of urgency, it's playful bouncy pop tone, and for the ghostly echoes of the excitement this band once conjured. 

3. Which bands do FIDLAR sound like? 

SWMRS, WAVVES, Bass Drum of Death, and The Frights. 

4. Which bands influenced FIDLAR? 

The Black Lips, Beastie Boys, Weezer, and The Hives. 

5. What is the word on the street about Down N Out?

"A sunburnt surf punk track with propulsive guitars and tongue-in-cheek spoken-word banter" - Prelude Press. 

"Sounds like classic FIDLAR" - Punk News. 

"An excellent single" - Kerrang! 

"Nodding out in a car,

Cause I don't give a fuck"