Fugue State Subtlety’s Dead cassette
As time continues moving on and the world gets more and more back to “normal” in this perceived post-COVID world, the one and only thing that I feel sad for is the amount of cool isolation-inspired solo projects beginning to fade—for a number of months, that made up the majority of tapes I was sent to review. There was something incredibly beautiful and inspiring about the resilience of the creative punk rocker left to their own devices and having to make something work alone in order for it to exist at all. Well, FUGUE STATE is coming to me rather late in the game, but it just may be my absolute favorite of all such COVID projects I have yet heard. Beautifully crafted and demented driving garage rock tunes with more hooks than a meat locker, and some killer saxophone playing on two of the tracks. FUGUE STATE combines elements of tons of classics without sounding like aping them at all. Highly recommended for fans of the CRAMPS and BUTTHOLE SURFERS. Truly top-notch. I have no idea if this Western Massachusetts-based solo project has made the transition into being a live band, but dear god, I hope so.