Venice Beach punk natives Strawberry Fuzz share their new album Miller’s Garage (CandyShop Management). The new album directly follows the band’s 2023 LP Strongs Dr. Ever since making their musical debut in 2021 with the album Fuzz Tapes, Vol. 1, Strawberry Fuzz have cemented themselves as an unprecedented force to be reckoned with among the Los Angeles surf/skate punk scene.
Through their latest record, Strawberry Fuzz capture the danger and excitement of classic Los Angeles rock ‘n’ roll, exploring and conveying a niche subgenre of sleaze not seen in some time. In a music industry that often prioritizes perfection and intense production, the chaos of Strawberry Fuzz is undeniably refreshing.
Through heightened guitars and a more straightforward style of production, Miller’s Garage brings the band’s artistry to new levels, coming across as more in-your-face, yet also more intentional as The Fuzz have truly honed in on their craft.
“We really wanted to create a full listening experience across the 14 songs,” the band says of Miller’s Garage. “It’s sequenced with intention. A rollercoaster ride showing you that we’re not just some garage punk band, but can blast many genres while still remaining true to our Fuzz roots. The album is sprinkled with actual audio clips gathered by Dash from our tours and the streets of West Side Los Angeles. You can hear the sound of spray paint under guitar solos, or mindless banter from parties buried beneath instruments if you listen closely.”
Several songs on the record, such as “House Party,” contain snippets of conversations and dialogue woven throughout. This unique detail adds a cinematic element to the body of work, allowing the listener to visualize a real story to the chaos they hear in real time.
Staying true to this newfound of musical maturity, the band incorporate a wide variety of influences on Miller’s Garage, taking inspiration from a number of different subgenres while still maintaining their signature hard-hitting surf punk. Songs like “Bad Dreams” and “Magazine” take on a more ‘80s new wave persona, while visceral ragers such as “Green Room” and “Bullet” maintain an unmistakable hardcore identity.
Strawberry Fuzz also display a never-before-seen softness on Miller’s Garage, one that balances the album’s heaviness beautifully. “Thin Lizzy,” one of the album’s previously-released singles, expresses itself through a surf-inspired romantic feel, and the arguably Bowie-esque “Found Me Dead” exudes a deeper level of heartfelt vulnerability not previously seen. However, every “ballad” on the record is no sooner followed by extremely heavy tracks, proving that Strawberry Fuzz don’t wade around in their melancholy for very long.
Miller’s Garage overall is an undeniably fun listen throughout; listeners may find that the record is infectious in its compositions, no matter what sonic identity The Fuzz chooses to don. Songs like “Burnt” carry with it almost a sensualized sense of nirvana, depicting what might happen when one embraces the chaos and disorder and gives in – a concept that Strawberry Fuzz choose to live their lives by.
Combining influences of hardcore, garage, surf, Cramps-esque psychobilly, and classic punk, Strawberry Fuzz recall an unrelenting form of punk that demands to be heard across beer-soaked crowds and sticky venue floors. Strawberry Fuzz undoubtedly represent what punk rock is supposed to be: unrestrained by the boundaries of popular music, unafraid to maintain a biting vulnerability and unabashed by its inherent passion.
Buy the album here:
https://www.strawberryfuzz.com/
8 / 10
JUSTICE PETERSEN
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