FFS by Deaf Wish is an invigorating eruption of visceral punk anger. Despite clocking in at barely two minutes – a good quarter of which is spent building up to full throttle – it definitely succeeds in getting its point across. It’s all driving rhythm section, precision-slashed guitars and sneering vocals.
You lay down in the dirt
You get dirty, you get hurt
Buried
You get buried
Sarah Hardiman’s voice comes across like an Aussie Kim Gordon. In fact the overall sound is a lot like something from Daydream Nation/Goo era Sonic Youth.
FFS is the first single from Deaf Wish’s upcoming fifth full-length album Lithium Zion. This latest release will be put out by Sub Pop, which still has a major resonance for many music fans. Sub Pop’s current roster is pretty diverse and these days their acts don’t necessarily guarantee the grubbily distorted, chemically altered, flannel-clad glory of the label’s heyday. But some of their 21st century bands can still kick out a beastly jam, with Deaf Wish very much one of them.
And Sup Pop can definitely still talk a good PR game too. Here’s their take on Deaf Wish:
“While it’s a rare case that a group’s fifth album is their best, particularly any band operating under a “loud fast rules” ethos, Deaf Wish make a strong case as the exception. Their previous albums were all recorded in makeshift studios (Is that a basement with some quilts stapled to the ceiling? Now it’s a “studio”!), which of course is a wise aesthetic choice for capturing the hazardous riffing, chemically-stained vocals and fiery rhythms conjured by a group such as this, but this step toward a slightly more professional sound only enhances their power – think of the difference between a tangled pile of firecrackers and a red stick of TNT lodged in a hornets nest.”
There you go. That’s what Sub Pop are saying. And on the evidence of FFS, I’m not arguing with them.
Deaf Wish by Ela Stiles
