Outloud! Records, 13 March 2021
Deeds changes his approach, but the results are more of the wonderful same.
The Gungans, one of the many outlets for the great and ambitious Grim Deeds, sees Deeds making maybe his most straight-ahead pop punk music. On past releases Meesameesameesa! and Kablooey!, The Gungans packed in fun and literate songs about everyday concerns like beating Ninja Gaiden, loving heavy metal, and dreading Costco trips. Lots of fun in those nuggets.
On this newest offering, the MTX-checking …And The Fans Who Hate Them, The Gungans are approached from a different angle. According to Deeds, he took a melody and chord-first approach, coming up with lyrics, titles, and guitar leads after the essence of the song had been established. Further, Deeds recorded the 10-song record as an album rather than a song-by-song-collected approach. All that said, The Gungans are The Gungans, and the brain of Deeds doesn’t disappoint.
My favorite songs on …And The Fans Who Hate Them hit with speed and bubblegum hooks. Melody is the name of the game and the opening triumvirate positively slays. The galloping fast buzzsaw “Nostalgia” has a cool vocal line, some stellar harmonizing, and a quick but mighty guitar lead. Follow up “Adulting” slows things down half a notch, but uses vocal phrasings to get the song to sink in. And I’ve completely fallen for the guitar riff on the chorus. Lead single “Goof Troop Army” drips with melodic goodness, with singalongs, hesitation hooks on the bridge, a super terrific bassline, and some back-and-forth vocal interplay on the coda. All three are keepers. Elsewhere, “Left For Dead” does the same, with the vocal melody on the bridge and the singalong “left for dead” chorus playing as a couple of my favorite moments on the record. “Get Wise” and “Impatient” have the goods, too. The guitar riff on “Get Wise” is an absolute gem and he tosses a cool little rhythmic hook into the chorus. And “Impatient” leans on an awesome descending guitar riff and a cool key change near the end. Lots of pop to be found.
For what it’s worth, even when The Gungans shift away from mainlining pop the right notes get hit. Whether it’s the “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” maybe-counterpoint “Time Flies” or the blisteringly fast “Moronic”, the songs hold up with great relatable lines like “time flies and I don’t wanna die” (from “Time Flies”) and awesome “oh yeah” backing vocals and popping bass hooks (“Moronic”). And where “Serpentine” and “Here and Now” are a little darker, the tough guitar riff behind the mid-tempo stomping “Serpentine” and the Bad Religion-esque guitar lead on “Here and Now” hook me all the same. No matter how The Gungans shift tone from song-to-song, lots of hooks land and Deeds gift for melody never fails.
The Gungans are a bunch of fun. …And The Fans Who Hate Them is more of that literate, hook-laden buzz punk that hits so right. There’s no misses here, just pure buzzing bubblegum pop. Don’t miss out.
Favorite song: “Goof Troop Army”
Favorite moment: the chorus on “Get Wise” is getting my kids to sing along; that’s pretty neat
Favorite whatever else: the MTX-referencing cover and title are lovely
ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
