THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Storming back from a four-year hiatus, Southern California punk band FIDLAR have dropped their new EP That’s Life. The six-track EP features Centipede, FSU, Sand On The Beach and their brand-new single On Drugs, a haywire song that feels as though it could hurtle out of control at any moment with mangled feedback glitches and reality-questioning refrains like the Basement Jaxx-inspired “where’s your head at?”
As their first official project since 2019’s Almost Free, the EP represents a journey for the trio of Zac Carper, Max Kuehn and Brandon Schwartzel. In the midst of a time when in-person contact was minimized — let alone live concerts being played and pits being circled on the floors of sweaty venues — the band found themselves thrust into their next chapter while looking for a way to harness the frenzied, carefree energy that has defined their shows and identity since forming over a decade ago.
On a search for some shred of enlightenment in 2020, the earliest seeds of That’s Life were planted with a trip; both literally and figuratively. Powered by psychedelics and caravanning with friends throughout the West and East Coasts, Mexico, Hawaii and beyond, Carper’s lyrics for the EP poured out during a DMT ceremony in Lake Powell. Lyrics that realize there is no heal-all enlightenment, and there are no answers. There is, however, an exuberance in sharing real human connections — both good and bad — and a peace in shouting fuck it when faced with the immutable chaos of life.
Together, the trio made That’s Life into a collection of songs that are back-to-basics, yet larger than FIDLAR’s ever sounded before. Loud, feral, and primed to be ignited on stage, the band teamed up with recording legend Dave Sardy (Spoon, LCD Soundsystem, Red Hot Chili Peppers) to record the EP at the famed Shangri-La in Malibu. That’s Life — a title borrowed from a tattoo inspired by a skate video — is the new era of FIDLAR, and yet the truest version of themselves they’ve ever been. It’s a middle finger to the concept of taking life too seriously, and taking the simplicities of life for granted.
On the heels of several sold-out shows this past fall in Los Angeles, New York and more, FIDLAR recently hit the road in support of the EP to do what they do best once again: Fuck shit up and play gnarly sets.”
