Five Years Has Nothing on FIDLAR
Bassist Brandon Schwartzel caught Pleaser up on the FIDLAR’s September album drop
FIDLAR, a SoCal punk rock band that includes vocalist-guitarist Zac Carper, drummer Max Kuehn and bassist Brandon Schwartzel, released a 13-song project titled Surviving The Dream. As an entirely self-recorded, self-produced and self-released album, the record reintegrates the band’s DIY roots while exploring new territory sonically.
The drop of Surviving The Dream, broke the trio’s five-year lapse in releasing a full-length album. In an interview with Pleaser, I asked bassist Brandon Schwartzel what contributed to FIDLAR’s pause in music creation.
PHOTO BY ALICE BAXLEY
“We pretty much toured non-stop since we started till the end of 2019 and then we were like, ‘let's take like a couple months off and reset.’ Then the pandemic happened, so two months turned into two years and all of a sudden we hadn’t released a full length album in 5 years…” he said, “but we were always writing and talking about FIDLAR and pretty much got to work releasing music and playing shows as soon as we could.”
FIDLAR has put out a few tracks and EP’s in the interlude, like the 2023 EP That’s Life, boasting six tracks that were all previously released as singles. Over the last few months, the band put out six tracks as teasers to prepare for the official release of Surviving The Dream on September 20. I asked if there was one song in particular that best represented the sound of the album, and Schwartzel said there’s so many different flavors on the record that it cannot be summed up … “a charcuterie board of sonic delights one could say,” he told me.
“I think that's how we kinda have always approached our records; we write a batch of songs that we like and feel like make sense together, record them, and put it out,” he continued.
The singles “FIX ME,” “GET OFF MY WAVE,” and “NUDGE,” were the first three released as a prelude to the album. Launching on June 10, the tracks scorched the surf-punk scene, reminding fans what they’d been missing in the absence of a FIDLAR album. The slow burn and lyrical impertinence of “NUDGE” captures the band’s ode to the carefree and reckless attitude that put them on the map.
Each verse builds on the last, infusing louder percussions, amplified guitar and police sirens, which Schwartzen said was a new sound added to this album. The verse sets the repeating pattern that continues throughout:
I got a nudge / From the judge / And he said /I'm not gonna budge
All three band members had a massive hand in creating Surviving The Dream as an independently produced record. Creating a self-recorded album is, “definitely a lot more work,” according to Schwartzel, “but you’re also operating on your own schedule which is sick. I think the best part is just being able to make music we want without someone else in the room giving their opinion.”
“The downfalls are giving yourselves deadlines to finish things and making decisions. Sometimes that's hard when you're so far in it,” he said.
Some new sounds to expect on this album include the ukulele, a guitar called the Sustainiac, a dog barking and voice recordings. As a band looking to break back into the music scene, Schwartzel said the most difficult part is reacting to outsiders chiming in with their opinions on the best ways to make a hit song.
“Make the music you want with people you like and respect, play as many shows as you can, make shit with your friends and have a good time doing it. There are no rules or formulas to this sh*t. People will tell you that you need to do it a certain way and that's just not the case,” he said.
FIDLAR began their live performances for this album on September 23 in Santa Cruz, CA and will make their rounds to cities across the country. Their vocalist-guitarist Zac Carper says, “These songs are meant to be heard live with the fellow FIDIOTS going off.” So, if you’re eager to rock out to an album made for head banging, head to a FIDLAR show near you!
