There’s just something about Fucked Up that always gets me. I’m not sure if it’s the name of the group itself or the fact that the band seems to not really care if you fuck with them or not. Honestly, if the band had a tiny core audience I imagine they’d still be doing the same thing year after year, album after album. The band’s flagrant blend of hardcore and pop is one thing that most should aspire to because no one tears it up the way Fucked Up does. Another Day (Merge Records) isn’t new material, but rather new-ish instead, but don’t quote me on that. Guitars & drums were recorded in 2022 while vocals were recorded late in 2023. There are several backup vocals by the likes of people like Pretty Matty, Danko Jones, and others. I keep going back to the title track here, with its guitars that sound as if they’re moving backward but they’re not, some clever notes are being played to make it seem that way. The backing harmonies though man, they really are to live for. We should be all in with this album!

16 UNDERGROUND – DRIFTING DEEPER

Do things that just might not be the norm… is probably what Southern California’s 16 Underground thought to itself when it veered into a direction that isn’t traveled by most. Made up of Edward Barraza (guitar, keyboards), Ashley Tarin (vocals), Andrés Sanchez (guitar), and Christian Ramos (drums), there’s a definitive challenge the band is up against. The group has just released its debut EP, Drifting Deeper (Strange View Records) and those challenges just might be a godsend as the group’s direction clashes with the multitude of guitar-rock bands that surround it.

For its EP, 16 Underground navigates waters surrounded by Trip-Hop aesthetics, cooing vocals, and shoegazing intentions, but those remain on the fringe. The band’s opening “Chasing A Comfort” might be reminiscent of 90s pop rhythms but Tarin’s sultry voice grabs hold of the bottom end and allows her words to waft across the wave 16 Underground creates in the background. The moody track is somber but allows listeners into the group’s world. The band follows it with the colorfully upbeat “Can You Hear Me,” where the band latches onto a rhythm and allows the natural progression of the song to take hold and allows Tarin’s layered harmonies of “Slow me down” to fit around it prominently. Easily one of the best songs you might hear this year. “0Heat” presents itself as the jam session that morphs into a full-fledged song, with Tarin’s soft-spoken words of heartbreak and loneliness while “I Want To Know” searches for answers for what’s real. The laidback journey here has jangly guitars in the distance and while the bassline may be prominent, the six strings aren’t lost within the mix of keyboard washes and controlled feedback. 16 Underground can definitely rock without making a full-frontal assault, and we hear it with “(Song 4).” The rhythm bounces and if they wanted, the band members could have included a variety of dynamics but they chose for a bit more subtlety, which is endearing. It’s actually vital to the song to keep it from getting away from the band.

The 5-track release includes two additional tracks, reworked/remixed versions of “I Want To Know” which they probably didn’t need to include but did. But it’s the 5 songs of Drifting Deeper that I’m actually interested in. 16 Underground definitely does some interesting things and stand apart from the rest. They’re able to mix in a kaleidoscope of sound in such a brief amount of time. That’s not an easy task and 16 Underground should be commended for it.