Public Figures - Year of the Garuda
PUBLIC FIGURES RELEASE PRIMORDIAL ‘YEAR OF THE GARUDA’
A few days ago, angular post-punk outfit Public Figures released their debut album, Year of the Garuda.
Public Figures | Photo: Marcela Morales
Talking about the ‘being there’ quality of their sound, they both share, “When I’m playing music, I’m not really thinking about anything.”
Made up of Chad McCall and Van Hillard, the two mt in Tallahassee, Florida, during the ‘90s, followed by working together in a number of projects, followed by moving to Washington, D.C., because of the magnetic music scene, where they played in bands such as Park Snakes and People Chasing People, sharing the stage with French Vanilla, Priests, the Dismemberment Plan, and Lithics, among others.
When the pandemic hit, the two were just coming off the amicable breakup of Park Snakes and were thinking about founding a new three-piece band. But it didn’t happen because they happened upon a sound perfect for a two-piece.
According to McCall, who sums up the duo’s chemistry, “Sometimes you find that some relationships just click better than others.”
Recording in their basement studio, called House of Decay, McCall, and Hillard tracked the songs virtually live, producing a sound easily replicated in their live show.
“Hush Money Talks” summons up an experience akin to listening to the White Stripes cover the Talking Heads – reckless sonic heft pumped out by a black, glistering guitar skating on lashing drums.
Encompassing nine tracks, the album starts off with “Flight Suit Riot,” opening on a visceral, garage-rock guitar grinding out punk-lite edgy tones as crunching, pummeling drums drive the rhythm. Faint hints of surf-rock give the tune an alluring echo.
Highlights include the title track, riding rumbling drums topped by a loose, ragged guitar pushing out strident, blistering timbres. Choppy, Devo-like vocals give the lyrics tasty new wave savors, along with tints of punk bravado.
“Acid Reign” travels on rounded, clouting drums, while a guitar gives off suggestions of symphonic rock merged with prog-rock and psychedelia. “Shark Song” delivers hazy, dirty smudges of guitar hues supported by tight, walloping drums. Sing-song, chant-like vocals imbue the lyrics with yummy raucous energy.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey / You’re gonna die swimming / Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey / You’re gonna die wet.”
“Vehicular,” a personal favorite, rolls out on stripped-down muscular tones atop champing drums. Reminiscent of the White Stripes, only more primordial, “Vehicular” smashes into your head. “N.O.U.N.” amalgamates surging punk interfaces with a new wave rhythm full of bombastic vim and vigor, producing a song so raw it bleeds.
“Hush Money Talks” summons up an experience akin to listening to the White Stripes cover the Talking Heads – reckless sonic heft pumped out by a black, glistering guitar skating on lashing drums.
Public Figures have it going on! Year of the Garuda is simultaneously pulverizing and rife with scorching rhythms, fueling the sonic fire.
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