Review by Izel Villarba, find more of his work here.
The Fat Whites are back. After guitarist Saul Adamczewski left in 2016, to make music with Insecure Men among a heap of other reasons, the future wasn’t so clear for Fat White Family. But it never has been for this band of South London nihilists and they relish in the self-loathing improvisation of it all. Even before Saul’s departure, they admitted to their destructive nature, unsure when everything would cave in and yet still loving every minute of it. Upon searching for articles related to Fat White Family one may find stories of naked performances, public denouncement of bands such as the Arctic Monkeys and Idles, throwing a pig’s head into the crowd, heroin abuse, and the lead singer covering himself in his own feces. Audience members commonly report their live sets as an immersive experience of chaos. The band was in a constant state of madness. Both founding members Saul and lead singer Lias Saoudi cite the substance abuse and debauchery as a cause of contention within the Fat White Family; enough reasons for Saul to amicably depart from the band out of mutual respect for the physical and mental health of all parties.
Which leads us to Serfs Up!, Fat White Family’s third album release, complete with contributions and a return from Saul. Upon his leaving and the band’s decision to keep going, it was up to keyboardist and Lias’ younger brother, Nathan Saoudi, to take on partial responsibility for the songwriting. FWF continued to perform and record under the brothers’ new collaborative relationship. After part of the album was fleshed out and written, Saul stepped back in with his own fresh perspective on how to fill out the rest of the record. The band cites this project as the first where they all have equal credit in creating the tracks; a third Nathan, a third Lias, a third Saul.
As a result of this new approach, Serfs Up! delivers something straightforwardly clean cut and pop centric, yet Fat White to the core. The scuzzy guitar riffs and abrasive vocals of their past albums, Champagne Holocaust and Songs for Our Mothers, are replaced with melodic synths and seductive beats, more palpable to a less informed audience. But with this new album they carry the same filthy attitudes and views they’ve always had; unafraid to be controversial and ruthless in their honesty. It’s intelligent, it’s well crafted, and it’s damn good.
A representation of just another era in the band’s timeline, the release comments on the absurdity of being an English band surviving in the mayhem of Brexit. Much of the lyrics serve as self-loathing British humor that’s evidenced in the music video for “Tastes Good With the Money”, an ingenious shout out to the pioneering methods of Monty Python.
The first single off the new album, “Feet”, sounds partially like a Depeche Mode dance tune mixed with the gothic vocal delivery of Bauhaus. It could fit at a rave or disco. There are similar audible pop cues in “Fringe Runner”.
Written from the perspective of the Unabomber, “I Believe in Something Better” is the perfect example of FWF’s humorous side, one that likes to raise hairs and stir argument while being masterfully articulated in musical composition. Their themes and title choices (see “Bomb Disneyland”, “Is It Raining In Your Mouth?”) are frequently labeled as tasteless under the vitriol of critics but they also challenge listeners to think about why such things are offensive and follow their lead in picking a stance and standing by it without compromise.
The sultry tunes “Vagina Dentata” and “Kim’s Sunsets” present Lias’ voice as a soothing, melodic force lulling the listener into some sort of catatonic state. The effect is heightened in the former with the heavy use of keys and saxophone. Both have a sweet sound that provide a conflicted imagining of toothed vaginas and a famous dictator.
“When I Leave” could soundtrack an old American Western. Instead the band uses it as narrative to a Wickerman homage. The cult horror visuals amplify Saul’s drudging guitar while Lias partakes in a disturbing odyssey. “I’ve been there and I am there still, mid-aftermath, heroic and colossal baby” sum up perfectly how this band has been able to handle the roller coaster they’ve thrown themselves in by making an album comparatively refined in sound quality than its predecessors and effective in caricaturing mass consumption pop music with wit and grit.
Listen to the album below.
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