AUDACITY - Hyper Vessels LP

Includes download code.

From the opening bedlam of barnburner “Counting The Days," Audacity demonstrate that while their songwriting has become more nuanced, their delivery has gotten more savagely precise. With recording duties handled by longtime friend and tourmate Ty Segall, Audacity sound like they’ve finally found someone who can capture the frenetic drive of a song like “Hypo," the off-kilter hook of “Riot Train," the undeniable melodic appeal of “Fire," and the cowpunk influence of “Previous Cast." It can be tricky to juggle the bubblegum with the piss-and-vinegar, but it’s a duality Audacity embraces, “I feel like we get portrayed a lot as a sunshine-y, carefree California band,” Gibson says “But lots of our songs deal with melodramatic subject matter. The fact we’ve all lived in Fullerton pretty much the whole time we've been in the band has some effect on the music. Driving around town, there’s a memory or a ghost on every street. People die or move away or get in trouble, or groups of friends drift apart and start hating each other and get in fights. It’s not demoralizing; it’s a part of life, but of course it affects the music.” That frustration manifests itself on songs like “Overrated," where you can almost hear the spit and sweat hitting the microphone. But then they turn around and bask in the unapologetically gratuitous pop swagger of album closer “Lock On The Door." By the time Hyper Vessels comes to close, you’re convinced that Audacity can get away with whatever they damn well please, it’s going to have it’s adrenaline-fueled charm regardless.