“Beer’s always better with a bag around it,” goes the fierce, squawling single “Cheap Beer” from Los Angeles-based skate-punks FIDLAR. The band’s 2013 self-titled debut embraced youthful bacchanalia with reckless abandon and endless amounts of drugs and alcohol. It’s an intoxicating album that hits 100 miles per hour and never lets off the gas until the cocaine eventually wears off.
Just how that breakneck lifestyle is unsustainable, FIDLAR deftly changed their strategy on last year’s follow-up, Too, rather than succumb to the same debaucherous and exhausting narrative. “I’m still alive/ And so are you/ I still can’t get myself outta you” frontman Zac Carper sings on the punishing blues rocker “Punks,” which seems as much a diatribe about a broken relationship as it is about being burnt out. Later, on “Leave Me Alone,” the message is even clearer: “And maybe I should fall in love/ But that just seems so boring/ Too late to die young/ And too young to burn out/ (I’m so burnt out).”
Too finds a band that’s growing up and becoming better with the maturity. For one, the album details Carper’s struggles getting sober with some real perspective. “I figured as I got older that life just sucks when you get sober/ I figured out when I got sober that life just sucks when you get older,” he sings on “Sober.”
But things aren’t always so heavy. FIDLAR often remains quite light and jovial. The album’s lead single, “40oz on Repeat,” takes a satirical look at selling out and the faux-seriousness of ‘90s pop music. The music video parodies Weezer, Britney Spears, Korn and Beastie Boys, among others.
Too proves there’s a life past drugs, alcohol and youthful indiscretion, and even if it’s not as wild, it’s still a life worth living.
FIDLAR headlines The Rave II on Friday, November 18 with SWMRS and The Frights. Doors open at 8 p.m.
Stream of the Week
It’s a point that’s been hammered to death over the past year: The Milwaukee hip hop scene is stronger than it’s ever been. While that sentiment portends an optimistic future, it also unfairly disparages the city’s past. Even though the scene wasn’t as robust as it is now, there remained bright spots. The silky smooth rapper AUTOmatic was one of them. With his latest effort, Marathon, AUTOmatic proves that he’s in it for the long run.
This Week in Live Music
Wednesday, November 16: Three Women & The Truth: Mary Gauthier, Eliza Gilkyson and Gretchen Peters at Shank Hall, 8 p.m. ($25) – (1434 N. Farwell Ave., ShankHall.com)
Thursday, November 17: The Blind Shake with Gallery Night and Devils Teeth at Cactus Club, 9 p.m. – (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
Also: MKE Unplugged Presents Midnight Reruns and Ian Olvera at Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m. (FREE) – (2419 E. Kenwood Blvd.)
And: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons at The Milwaukee Theatre, 7:30 p.m. ($69-$99) – (500 W. Kilbourn Ave., MilwaukeeTheatre.com)
And: JJ Grey & Mofro at Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m. ($27.50 advance; $30 door) – (1032 N. 4th St., PabstTheater.org)
And: Rusted Root with Devon Allman Band at Potawatomi’s Northern Lights Casino, 8 p.m. ($15-$25) – (1721 W. Canal St., PaysBig.com)
And: Greg Koch Band at Walker’s Point Anodyne Coffee, 8 p.m. ($15) – (224 W. Bruce St., AnodyneCoffee.com)
And: Chris Botti at The Riverside Theater, 7:30 p.m. ($37.50-$63.75) – (116 W. Wisconsin Ave., PabstTheater.org)
Friday, November 18: FIDLAR with SWMRS and The Frights at The Rave, 8 p.m. ($18) – (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., TheRave.com)
Also: Craig Morgan with Mac Powell at Potawatomi’s Northern Lights Casino, 8 p.m. ($35-$45) – (1721 W. Canal St., PaysBig.com)
And: Moon Curse with Shogun, Bison Machine and Attalla at Cactus Club, 9 p.m. – (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
And: Daughter with Vancouver Sleep Clinic at Turner Hall Ballroom, 9 p.m. ($18 advance; $20 door) – (1032 N. 4th St., PabstTheater.org)
And: Hunter with Rocket Paloma and Mouse Corn at Club Garibaldi, 9 p.m. – (2501 S. Superior St., ClubGaribaldis.com)
And: Whiskey Of The Damned with Pay The Devil at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m. ($5) – (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com)
Saturday, November 19: Alejandro Escovedo with Jesse Malin at The Back Room @ Colectivo Coffee, 8 p.m. ($25) – (2211 N. Prospect Ave., PabstTheater.org)
Also: Peter Wolf at Potawatomi’s Northern Lights Casino, 8 p.m. ($20-$30) – (1721 W. Canal St., PaysBig.com)
And: Soul Low with Soddy Daisy and Brenda at High Dive, 9 p.m. (FREE) – (701 E. Center St., HighDiveMKE.com)
And: Ghost Cuts with Pink Trilliums at Circle A Cafe, 8 p.m. – (932 E. Chambers St., Circle-A-Café.org)
And: SistaStrings and [ ] at Company Brewing, 10:30 p.m. ($10) – (735 E. Center St., CompanyBrewing.com)
And: Machine Gun Kelly with Mod Sun at The Rave, 7:30 p.m. ($24-$34) – (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., TheRave.com)
And: Dr. Chow’s Love Medicine with Chain Drive and Six Wives Of Richard at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, 9 p.m. ($5) – (1001 E. Locust St., Linnemans.com)
And: The Sounds with Zipper Club and My Jerusalem at The Rave, 8 p.m. ($20) – (2401 W. Wisconsin Ave., TheRave.com)
And: Cream City Chiefers: Presented by DailyChiefers & SOE at Cactus Club, 9 p.m. ($7) – (2496 S. Wentworth Ave., CactusClubMilwaukee.com)
Sunday, November 20: Texas Dave Trio with Edgar Allan Cash at Circle A Cafe, 8 p.m. – (932 E. Chambers St., Circle-A-Café.org)
