EP Review FIDLAR - That’s Life

Each of FIDLAR’s full-length albums have managed to try new musical hats on, while maintaining the same euphoric rock essence that made ‘Cheap Beer’ such an instant breakthrough for them back in 2012. The self-titled debut from which that came was rough-around-the-edges garage punk, unabashedly hedonistic, its 100 mph pace matched by the apparent need of frontman Zac Carper to verbalise every single one of his thoughts at once. 2015’s ‘Too’ swerved away from lo-fi into some truly huge moments: when ‘Punks’ hits, it truly hits. Zac’s lyrical view turned inward, and darker: affordable beverages became ‘Overdose’, ‘Sober’ and ‘Stupid Decisions’. Then with ‘Almost Free’ four years later, they tried all manner of sounds: hip hop by way of Clash references; the scintillating noise-punk of ‘Nuke’ and ‘Too Real’, and the self-aware sadness that contrasts with the upbeat nature of ‘By Myself’. At no point during this, though, have they ever sounded like anyone but FIDLAR.