Puddy have just one thing to ask you — What Do You Want? — in their blistering new comeback single and video showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Feeling worn down? Run over by life? Like you’re constantly at the mercy of malevolent forces beyond your control? If you’ve survived the last few years, the answer is probably yes. But sweet vindication is here — in the form of this Canadian indie quartet and their triumphant revenge-fantasy riff-rocker.
An instantly addictive burst of punked-up fury, What Do You Want? finds the band hurling invective at a parasite whose meal ticket has just been canceled. And from the way singer-guitarist Paolo Rizzo snarls out the chorus, you can tell this is a man who’s well and truly over it:
“What more do you want from me?
What more can you take from me?
Ain’t nothing to break in me
Nothing left to take from me.”
Puddy are recognized as pioneers of Canadian punk, and you can hear their years of experience in the way Rizzo and JV Bonhomme’s overdriven guitars — bolstered by Tim Reesor’s lurching bass — nail their unnamed tormentor to the wall, while Eric Cohen’s drums to pummel him about the head in repeated, righteously indignant bursts.
The song is accompanied by a video in which the group is seen wandering through a hazy limbo meant to symbolize the mental fog induced by a life of setbacks. It’s an apt metaphor indeed for the less-than-linear career trajectory Puddy have followed since their founding in 1993 — a series of ups and downs recounted with endearing self-deprecation on their website.
Having members scattered to the far-flung corners of Timmins, Niagara and Montreal hasn’t helped things any. Yet they defied distance and countless other obstacles to cut the comeback album Demagogo, co-produced by Andy Curran (Envy of None) with Paolo and mixed by Vic Florencia (Danko Jones). What Do You Want? is an opening salvo in that return to active duty, which culminates with the release of the full album in the spring.
But first, Puddy will hone the new material at two shows: One on Jan. 19 at Camp Cataract in Niagara Falls, and the other on Jan. 20 at Bovine Sex Club in Toronto. What do they want for admission? A mere $10, the same price they charged at their last gig all the way back in 2012. Yeah, that’s right.
Watch the video for What Do You Want? above, hear more from Puddy below and give them a high five on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
