Posted on: March 24, 2022 Posted by: Kim Muncie Comments: 0

Pop-punk is pretty much everywhere once again in 2022, but this doesn’t mean there are many players in the mainstream doing the genre justice. I’m not talking about the usual suspects, the veterans, or the puritans either – when you’ve got more crossovers in this style of music than straight-up players, the fans can tell, which is why the Fizzgigs are getting the kind of love from listeners they are this spring. Their new single and music video “Destiny” is an ode to the focused pop-punk of yesteryear with a firmly modern edge lent to its most basic of fundamental components. 

First off, the riffs here don’t have a tinny leanness to them by any measurement, but instead a muscular end to which the bassline and drums can shape with prejudice. There isn’t a moment where the guitar parts aren’t as loud – if not louder – than the vocal is, implying an urgency and intensity that has been greatly missing from the majority of pop-punk I’ve heard coming off of major labels in the past couple of months. This is a band that cares a lot about garage rock ideals, and it’s obvious when listening to this somewhat conceptual offering. 

The drums support the melodies as nothing else could, and their violent crashing is essential to our appreciating the aggression within this single. I don’t like it when percussive prowess trumps a smart harmony, but this song isn’t about making a statement through grandeur; quite the contrary, if you ask me at least. The Fizzgigs want to beat up the mundanity of the popular model in this release, and the aptly-titled “Destiny” might have been the perfect framework through which to state their message to the audience. It’s rough n’ tumble, but it’s still defined rock n’ roll for sure. 

As far as the lead vocal goes, this is a pretty clean setup that doesn’t obscure the melodic trappings of our singer just in the name of giving us more meat on the instrumental parts. In true pop-punk fashion, there’s an emotional core to be appreciated in this performance, but it doesn’t slip into goth/emo territory before the band knows how to control it. Their tightness as a unit is something to be impressed by, and it’s not being synthetically sponsored nor brought to life through the technological elements you’d find in a high-priced recording studio. 

While this might not be as hook-centric as what the mainstream in the pop-punk genre will offer you before the year is over, what the Fizzgigs are bringing to the table as a band is far more engaging for those of us who grew up on first- and second-gen groups of this style. There’s no room for the filler that some of rap’s leftovers are stuffing into their own versions of “punk” material in “Destiny;” this is a song about putting the pedal to the floor as much as possible, and we couldn’t have asked for a better set of players to make it happen this month. 

Kim Muncie

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