“Nothing to Lose“
from the album God Loves Fiasco
2007
Guitarist Jonathan Edelstein, drummer Julian Bennett Holmes, and bassist Lucien Buscemi (son of Steve) were just 12 years old when they initially formed then StunGun, in between snack time and drum class at a Park Slope band camp. Now 16, and calling themselves Fiasco, the garage punk trio have played New York’s CBGB’s, Cake Shop, and Studio B.
God Loves Fiasco, a 23-song debut on the band’s own Beautiful imprint, is a startlingly good way to get your teenage kicks. The incendiary guitar work, drum thrashing and perceptive lyrics — including subject matter as diverse as unrequited love for a lesbian titled “Disappointment” and the slinky instrumental “Shot in My Sleep,” which was inspired by Buscemi’s nightmare vision of Zakk Wylde with a semi-automatic — echoes everyone from a hormone-drenched Sonic Youth to a youthful-sounding Slint. Standout “Nothing to Lose,“ trods on classic indie rock aesthetic a la Pavement, as the disaffected chorus repeats “Nothing to lose/Nothing to gain,” proving that punk rock and teenage boys go together like PB & J.
While the trio may be the only adolescents to play CBGB’s, they aren’t the only ones causing a fiasco. Another NYC-based band with the same name was mistakenly booked for a show at the Crash Mansion after a promoter slotted the teens. Spectators anticipating a manic Minutemen-esque set from the precocious punksters were instead treated to fare that sounded more like Duran Duran.