“Burn Bridges”
from the EP Sun Bronzed Greek Gods
2010
iTunes
What’s your favorite thing about summer? The sun? The booze? The bikinis? Summer is my favorite time of the year in almost every way, especially so for the music it brings. I live for the upbeat, happy-go-lucky albums that are bound to rule the hot summer days and I imagine anyone else who enjoys the same music probably feels the same way. I mean, just to digress for a moment, does anyone listen to metal at the beach? Tanning, with some guy loudly pig squealing about the undutiful medieval kings of yore in the background? Did the Pagan overlords ever just take a day to soak up the sunshine? Do Slayer make swim trunks? Is corpse paint water-resistant? There’s a lot left unanswered.
What I can tell you is that Sun Bronzed Greek Gods is my kind of summer EP. The second lead singer Dom chimes in on synth-romp opener “Living in America” with the prolonged “It’s so sexxxxxyyyyyy” hook, you just know you’re about to get fuzz-fucked in the most terrific way. It’s an invitation: summer’s waiting, lose the winter clothes, shave that nasty beard, dig out those wayfarers, be glad for a moment that crocs are a dying trend, and get the hell out there. Dom’s sound has enough edge to satisfy the critics and enough energy to satisfy everyone else, but for what it’s worth, this is the kind of album you don’t have to think about for even a moment; sit back, sing a long, play it in the background, it doesn’t matter. Just enjoy.
Though songs like “Burn Bridges” are lyrically about disconnection and similarly dreary topics, when juxtaposed against its glimmering synths and lighthearted nature, who cares? Half the time the message of the songs (if there even is one) is foregone for a feeling that’s far removed from anything less than joyful, so as far as I’m concerned they may as well all be about sunshine and pitchers of sangria because that’s the kind of mood they stir up. Likewise, the huge “Hey Bochicha!” chorus could be to drunken beach parties like “Kumbaya” is to lame summer camps and it’s one of the most contagious things you’ll hear in a long time, powered by the restless madness of the bands titular Christopher Owens soundalike vocalist. This is dirty lo-fi pop tailor-made for teenage summer debauchery and when the weather’s warm and the sun’s out, why not?