THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “F.I.T.H. is the second solo outing from Joel Tyler Wall (better known as half of L.A. retro-pop duo Diamond Hands).
His previous solo record Green Wave saw Joel in more of a garage/psychedelic mood — not the case with F.I.T.H., as he explains: “After I completed my first solo album Green Wave, I started writing these songs with more of a punk aesthetic. The writing and recording took place in between albums for my main musical project Diamond Hands. I guess I was feeling a bit angry or angsty at the time. I grew up playing and touring in punk bands so it’s only natural i go that way.
“I wanted to make an album with a sound that I hadn’t yet fully delved into. Bands like Descendants, Operation Ivy and Minor Threat were big influences on me and still are. Newer artists like Ty Segall, Tim Presley and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are big influences as well. Half of these songs came from singles and rough demos I had since 2020. The other half came within a few months of completing the album. I produced the music at my own Green Door Studios in 2021.
“This album is also the first time I played and recorded all the instruments and handled the production without any outside help. Most of these songs come from a place of feeling alone and disconnected. I tried to keep the songs short and to the point with some sort of pop sensibility thrown in. I was really inspired by Nietzsche and his ‘death of God’ theory, especially on the track No God. I went to middle school with a band called F.I.T.H. (F*cked In The Head). I always thought it was a cool punk band name, short, to the point and a little scary, kind of like the album.”
