Review: Grim Deeds – “Bunny City”

OUTLOUD! Records, 09 May 2022

The newest Grim Deeds is more cathartic pop punk with a surprising twist at the end.

Grim Deeds purges through his music.  Sure, he likes melodic vocal hooks, bouncy pop punk guitars, and quick rhythms that, put together just right, might induce a sugar coma.  But all the catchiness gets mixed up with desperation, angst, and existential crises, and when his words fall on the right ears, he offers connection and insight.  And while I’m sure the songs act as a sort of exorcism for Deeds, I’m also sure that his fans feel like someone else gets it when they listen.

According to Deeds, the songs on Bunny City were conceived and recorded in the spring of 2022 during a weird emotional time, and the four original songs hit like personal missives.  The first two Bunny City songs, “I Walk The Line” and “To Night”, revel in a fairly quick galloping pace and jangly guitars while Deeds sings bleak couplets about end-of-the-world-type stuff.  “I Walk The Line” feels sort of heavy, but the chorus opens up and hits some really pretty chords and notes.  And “To Night” is a little faster, with guitars that jangle and jump while Deeds keeps up with words about an inevitable fall poking through with surprising rhymes and catchy melodies.  It’s a good one.  

After that, “Unreliable Narrator” has good drive and a story about someone wanting to do more but being unable to.  Backing “whoa-oh’s” offer up additional hooks along the way.  Then we have the buzzing “The Beast Inside”.  The guitars on this one sound like chainsaws, with any semblance of jangle excised from the song.  It’s easily the fastest and most rambunctious song on the record, and probably the most “traditionally punk” number, whatever that means.  But I like the fury of it a lot as he turns the binoculars on himself and looks for the monster inside.  It’s another difficult winner, maybe my favorite of the bunch.  Then we have the closing outlier, a cover of Swingin’ Medallions‘ “Double Shot of My Baby’s Love”. It’s done pretty faithfully, complete with the chorus vocals and the pop-swing-sock-hop vibe of the original and it feels weirdly fun and sweet.

If you know Grim Deeds stuff, then you probably know what to expect from Bunny City.  The songs are full of jangles and buzzsaw guitars, galloping drums, and the requisite cathartic lyrics, all topped off by a shot of catchy pop.  If that’s what you’re into, this’ll work for you.  And if you just wanna feel a connection to life, an acknowledgement of personal and existential struggles coupled with a survivor’s determination and perseverance, then look no further.

Favorite song: “The Beast Inside” – I’m a sucker for the buzzsaw sound

Favorite moment: when the chorus opens up on “I Walk The Line”, landing a surprising melody

Favorite whatever else: the cover art, done by Logan Umberger, is fantastically interesting, alternately dark and weird and whimsical