Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Loud guitars, searing lead vocals, a pummeling drumbeat, and a lot of pushing and shoving from the bassline have always added up to quality punk rock in my experience, and this is true of the new single “Destiny” by the Fizzgigs. Rather than trying to experiment with the traditional parameters of the pop-punk model, the Fizzgigs mean to give us a straight-up encapsulation of the genre’s best qualities inside of a juggernaut track in “Destiny” and its accompanying music video, and when taking into account all of the pseudo-surreal takes on this kind of music lately, it’s quite the refreshing treat to say the least.
The hook here is pretty sharp and grabbed my attention the first time I listened to the song, but I don’t think that the track revolves around the strength of its climax. Contrarily, there’s something to be said about the lack of tension as the band pushes through the verses and finds their way into the chorus; although fluid in their performance, they completely dispel any pressure that would have been present ahead of the fever pitch almost unintentionally. This doesn’t reduce the energy of the release, but instead gives their formula for songcraft just a little more personality than one might expect.
I really dig the old school punk formatting of these verses, and while it never sounds like the Fizzgigs are trying to be the Ramones, you can tell that they’ve got an appreciation for the old guard in punk rock as much as they do the flow of a more modern, poppy sound. “Destiny” is stacked and yet still very structurally simple, which gives it a bit more presence than some of the similar content I’ve been hearing on the FM dial in the past few months. It’s a difficult marriage of beastly riffs and black and white verses, but it works for this critic unquestionably.
Those who love pop-punk can’t go wrong with the Fizzgigs at the moment, and I think what this band puts forth in “Destiny” is a really exciting taste of what they could potentially release in the future with even fewer restrictions on their output. Emerging from the shadows of the American underground is no easy task by any means, but with the striking punch that this group of players is rocking at the moment, they’re going to have a hard time remaining the underground secret they have been thus far.
Kim Sullenberger
