It’s all fun and games until someone gets baked and falls off his surfboard. This is the essence of FIDLAR, the Southern California-based punk rock act that is pushing the boundaries of the word “abrasive. “The band’s acronym, “F**k It, Dog, Life’s a Risk” sums up their aesthetic. The band is a four piece group from Los Angeles, and their debut album feels full of risk. Their preferred songwriting inspirations are as follows: Surfing, skating, smoking, and having a lack of money due to the first three activities.

Very few songs on FIDLAR’s self-titled debut clock in past the two minute mark, the exception being the 7 minute opus “Cocaine” at the album’s rear. The rest of the album features rip-roarin’ pop punk gems that ease their way into your ear whether you think their songs are  PC or not. (They’re not.) Shades of Blink 182, Green Day, and the Black Lips come through in every track.

“Cheap Beer” is the lead single; an irreverent ode to getting drunk off of whatever is left of your minimum wage paycheck that features the shout-along, “I! Drink! Cheap! Beer! So! What! F**k! You!” They channel their inner Pixies with the catchy-as-all-get-out “Gimme Something,” and the riffs on “Blackout Stout” are as crunchy as can be. “Max Can’t Surf” is an ode to poor friend Max, who needs to take off his skinny jeans and trade them in for board shorts if he wants to get his skills up to par. The rest of the songs are searing, catchy, and LOUD.
 
Overall, despite the album’s immaturity, the band shows a promising ear for catchy melodies that should serve them well going forward. That is, if they can scrounge up enough pennies from the couch for bus fare to the studio.