FUGITIVE BUBBLE - Delusion 12"

After a few outstanding cassettes on the Stucco and Impotent Fetus imprints, this here is the first vinyl from Olympia, Washington’s Fugitive Bubble. While Fugitive Bubble’s raw production, hyperactive drumming, and ragged delivery root them in the world of DIY punk and hardcore, their music hearkens back to a time when hardcore’s boundaries weren’t so clear.

The faster bands on Dangerhouse—Rhino 39, the Eyes, the Bags—are an obvious reference point since Fugitive Bubble shares those groups’ scratchy guitar sounds and big chorus hooks. But Fugitive Bubble also evokes classic punk in their willingness to push at the edges of their sound with moments like the wistful closing section of the otherwise furious “Chicken Head,” the brooding “Magic Switch” (which has shades of Paganicons-era Saccharine Trust), and “Motorcycle Slop,” the evocative instrumental that closes Delusion.

Fugitive Bubble’s music is suffused with the thrill of discovery, their loose yet assured delivery gluing everything together as they explore a wide range of musical moods and colors, particularly for a 45rpm 12” operating primarily at blistering tempos. With Delusion, Fugitive Bubble will win over anyone who loves great songs played fast and wild.