Chicago underground rock unit Fygars shine on their debut full length album “Utter Candor”. The record is made up of nine inspiring tracks that channel the perfect blend of powerful noisy guitars and indie rock weirdness.
Opening number “Dark Age” hits hard with a sound that falls somewhere between Swervedriver and Hum. It’s got huge hooks that get stuck in your head and have you singing along almost instantly. The guitar tones are absolutely brilliant and work perfectly with the pounding drums and heartfelt vocal attack.
“Fall In” flips back and forth between a gliding melodic riff and blasts of sonic noise before laying into an anthem like chorus that harnesses plenty of grit and grime. Eventually things move into a more intricate guitar pattern before taking things down and blasting them back up again. It’s almost as if The Pixies had “chops” and decided to collaborate on a track with The Jesus Lizard.
The laid back feeling “Faced” is full of spectacular dynamics and has one of the most intense guitar leads you will hear anywhere while “Better Make It Right” has more of a dreamy feel surrounding it before it breaks out into a full on barn burner.
Still I must say the most intense song of the album is “Mind Your Fall”. The vocals at the end I can only describe as what it be like if you were “burning in hell”. If you ever saw the part in American Movie were Mike Shank screams you will know what I mean. If not check out the clip here.
Another favorite of mine is “Dog Days”. There’s a cool slice of 70’s glam rock flair in it that makes me think of Bowie and T Rex. There’s also a nice touch of swagger and sway that moves throughout “That ‘LA’ Twitch” that I really can’t get enough of.
Everything winds down with the epic closer “Where You Wanna Go”. It’s blissful yet crushing presence offers a feeling of warmth and peace after roughly half an hour of rock n roll chaos.
Overall “Utter Candor” is a truly amazing record. Everything from the songwriting, arrangements, performances, instrumentation and production are top notch and the way the band balances the levels of madness and melody are simply second to none. Highly recommended.
Have a listen to “Dark Age” below and get the full album here.
