Originally hailing from Morgantown, West Virginia, Fuck Your Birthday formed in 2012 as a three-piece featuring Vocalist/Guitarist Christopher Henry, Drummer Roman Meisenberg and Bassist/Vocalist Michelle Fincham, the latter of whom featured on debut EP The Cymbal Barks Louder Than You. Following Fincham's departure the band would go onto release 2014's Li EP, 2015's Fortune Teller EP, 2016's full-length debut Touchless Automatic, 2018's Maydays album, 2019's Split 7” EP with Space Monkey Blow Out the Candles and Make a Split, the 2021 'Silent Night' Christmas single and 'House of 1000 Corners', their contribution to Nefarious Industries compilation NEF100: Burn After Hearing (to celebrate the label's 100th release).
BBQd theme is in reference to a Chinese meme where according to Henry, “a man autotune-croons ‘完啦, Barbecue啦’ over clips of fails or awkward situations' the band imagining an individual who “lives in that kind of world and ties these three songs together. He always seems to get himself stuck in rocky hard places” and whose subsequent downhill trajectory is thus chronicled in the EP's three tracks. As a long-time admirer of the band ever since my first exposure to them thanks to the interview & video preview of 'The Plan' on The Sleeping Shaman, I positively leapt at the opportunity to review this long-awaited EP.
'Moonshine' has an ultra cool Bluesy Garage-Rock vibe to it, the kind which I wish was around when less deserving, overhyped outfits such as The Hives, The White Stripes and The White Stripes were plying their pedestrian trade much to the delight of the NME. Instead, the vibe here tends more towards the swagger of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion but one invested with a more aggressive, at times Hardcore Punk sensibility. Royal Blood are mentioned in the promo-notes, as are Whores and there's certainly some comparisons to be made there, especially with regards to the latter's gnarly Noise-Rock, helping to make this one hell of an opener, its great to have you back lads. At nearly six minutes 'Propane Accessories' is the longest piece on the record and immediately I was struck by the Sludge and Grunge intonations of both the Melvins and Alice In Chains as well as the Bluesy grind of Clutch, making it pretty darn heavy. However nothing is as it seems with this duo as they incorporate pleasant Space-Rock and Prog influenced Thrash elements which remind one of Canadian legends Voivod. Its this very unpredictability in sound and refusal to conform to strict genre conventions that make Fuck Your Birthday always such a joy to listen to and nowhere is this more evident than here. The shortest track at just over a minute and a half long 'Repeat Offender' is so damn catchy, its like a cross between Rage Against The Machine, The Tom Tom Club and Refused. The latter's best known record was 1998's The Shape of Punk to Come and musically that's certainly the case here. Funky Drumming, Rap inflected Vocals and an angular Post-Hardcore attack are all orders of the day, with my only complaint being I wish it was longer, but then like the Minutemen, its brevity is also its strength. A personal favourite on the record and a superb way to conclude proceedings.
I have no idea as to Fuck Your Birthday's recording plans but one can only hope that this latest EP is a mere taster for a brand spanking new full-length. Packed full of invention, diversity and intelligence the band haven't disappointed yet and BBQd shows the band have no intention of doing so anytime soon.
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