by Dan Goldin (@paintingwithdan)
Way back in 2021, Philadelphia’s Mesh released their self-titled EP, a record that felt like the start of something truly special. Blending together art punk with motorik boogie, lo-fi sensibilities, and fuzzy indie pop jangle, the band developed their own kinetic sound. The music ripped as much as it buzzed, dutifully DIY yet undeniably nuanced for those who gave it a closer listen. Five years later Mesh return and their full length debut, No Fun At All, stands among the year’s finest releases, punk or otherwise. Due out July 24th via Feel It Records (Why Bother, Team Work, The Cowboys), the layer of basement fog has settled and the band are operating with a new found intelligibility. Don’t get it misconstrued, this is still very much a punk album, but there’s a sonic clarity that really highlights the tangled web they’re weaving.
With knotted guitars from Sims Hardin (6-string) and Allison Durham (12-string) that can recall Uranium Club at times and The Clean at others, Mesh are able to skip between mutant pop charm and rattled tension while seemingly subsiding with aggression. Sure the band are frustrated with the world around them (and they aren’t sugar coating it) but they let it unfurl in a way that feels evenly keeled, ripping with a sense of splendor above all else.
Where the record’s first single “Violent Peasant” was locked in with sarcastic charm and a transfixed progression, “Atrophy” aims for something a bit dreamier (though equally discordant). The song finds Durham on lead vocals (the aforementioned upgrade in overall clarity really allows her voice to shine), giving space for the band to spiral into the song via her 12-string guitar, kicking up dust with casual resolve. Rumbling forward on Tom Riese (bass) and Steve Darling’s (drums) ramshackle rhythm, “Atrophy” shimmers with a detached ease and the soft glow of Durham’s voice. Mesh come unglued but they are careful never to derail, creating brilliant punk music with one foot in hazy twee jangle and the other dipping into something a bit more caustic.