You have to admire a group of people who can take six years of struggle, gigs in toilet circuits, family tragedies and a hostile political climate and take it all with good humour, otherwise ‘Fit, Fine & Well’ by Throwing Stuff would be one of the most depressing albums of the year.
Instead, these experiences have been manifested into the hardcore quartet’s debut album, which continues their homage to Dischord records hardcore, which they’ve perfected since their debut EP ‘TSFU’. A number of tracks on this album are re-recordings of EP songs, including ‘Five Pound Beers’ and ‘The Hunter’ both super-charged blasts of sporadic punk rock under two minutes long.
These songs don’t re-draw the lines of hardcore, but retrace them across 15 songs and add their own blunt cynicism on top. In an age where eloquent prose dominates a lot of alternative songwriting, lines ‘I wanna smash my face through this porcelain, if it wasn’t covered in mold and piss,’ on ‘I Wish You Would Hibernate’ is a refreshing punch against the status quo.
For all the jovial elements that bring ‘Fit, Fine and Well’ to life, there’s an evident depth to the topics addressed across the album. ‘I Know What’s Best’ is a critical self-examination of one’s need for isolation (‘Another summer ends and I feel safe, no longer the outdoors do I have to face’) while ‘Token Beef’s’ scathing refrain of ‘Guard of your intent, your words are lacking intellect,’ can be attached to a number of figureheads on your screens every time you put the news on.
At 23 minutes, ‘Fit, Fine and Well’ is a short-fused album that never outstays it’s welcome. While it’s no rebirth for hardcore, Throwing Stuff have made a scorching record that the right crowds will rush the stage to shout along to at shows, surely what the best hardcore records should inspire. It’s the sound of six years of struggle, and struggle has never sounded this fun before.
3.5/5
‘Fit, Fine and Well’ by Throwing Stuff is out now on TNS Records.
Throwing Stuff links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp
Words by Andy Davidson (@AndyrfDavidson)
