by Matt Watton (@brotinus)
Oakland’s Feefawfum makes anxious math rock. They’re a five-piece helmed by the uber-talented vocalist-drummer-recording engineer Farley Miller and their latest release is the full length 100. The album is an unpredictable tour de force of nervous noise, technical musicianship, and startling hooks that taps into the musical chemistry of the five performers.
The nine songs on the record are never boring and never fully settled. Feefawfum’s brand of math rock is rooted in a frenetic eclecticism rather than a fondness of dissonance. Between tracks and within individual songs, the listener is treated to a smorgasbord of genres, timbres, and vibes. Take the opener and single “DKA” — bookended by meandering proggy-jazz guitar, the song is punctuated with outbursts of skronky riffing, propulsive drumming, and an infectiously chimey chorus. You get similar musical whiplash from tunes like “Plucked” and “Appetite,” where scraggly guitars and heart-attack breakdowns mix with ethereal synths and anthemic vocals. Other highlights include the second single “Pickled Ginger,” which has one of the most satisfyingly crunchy bass tones I’ve ever heard, the maximalist chaos of “So Capable,” and the new-wave flavoring of “Evergreen.”
Thematically, the record is a self-described “loose concept album based around drummer-vocalist Farley Miller's experience with type 1 diabetes.” (The title 100 references a ‘healthy’ blood sugar level, 100 mg/dl.) The musical medium is perfectly suited for the message — the slightly robotic vocal mixing, the rebarbative distortions, and the unsettling rhythms all perfectly reflect the inhuman prodding and interminable bloodletting the diabetic is subjected to. Miller’s lyrics explore healthcare (in)justice, where diabetics are price-gouged by soulless corporations to access their life-sustaining insulin (“DKA,” “Evergreen,” “Miles Away”), as well as the daily struggles of living with an autoimmune disease (“Pickled Ginger,” “Appetite”). It’s refreshing to see such pointedly personal and political lyrics on a math rock record — by album’s end, you feel like you’re sharing in the artistic catharsis and intimate frustration that animate the songwriting and performances.
Feefawfum’s heavy mathiness reminds one of math rock classics like Tera Melos, and the dynamic of a squawking-drummer-frontman calls to mind the post-punk styling of Squid. From both a musical and an emotional standpoint, 100 is a very satisfying and successful record.