by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Big Fred have returned with another melted dose of anxiety pop in the form of their full-length debut, Oh Hi Hello. The Rochester band's nerves are as jittery as ever on first single "Swimmer," a song that's able to embrace it's anxious state all the way to pre-birth, hoping to be a good swimmer vs a cum stain. Disguised via noise pop and basement fuzz, Big Fred make upbeat music for the downbeat mindset.
Opening with a spritely guitar and rhythms akin to a bouncy ball falling down a flight of stairs, heavy bursts of chorus and delay set the warped tone for Conor McCann's warbling vocals. It's all the fun that can be had while singing about perpetual weekend boredom and blending up your head, heart, and tongue. Just barely over a minute in length, Big Fred forgo a hook in favor of amping the intensity with sheer sludge-pop crunch, pushing forward like a freight truck. McCann's calm howl drips with nervous perfection as he sings, "what a shame to go out a waste, becoming a cum stain, on your dad's couch in the 80s," racing toward an abrupt yet triumphant ending. Hit repeat, then hit repeat again.
Big Fred's Oh Hi Hello is out September 1st via Sad Cactus Records.