Angel Du$t

Pretty Buff

Written by: PP on 20/07/2021 19:41:35

While preparing for the review of hardcore supergroup Angel Du$t's new EP "Bigger House", I discovered that their third album "Pretty Buff" slipped by my release radar unnoticed two years ago. Given what a momentous stylistic shift it was for the band, it deserves a review despite having been released back in 2019. Let's get straight to it with a pointed question: what the fuck happened here?

Don't get me wrong. Angel Du$t were always a playful band: that's why "Rock The Fuck On Forever" remains one of the best releases of 2016. By introducing a tongue-in-cheek pop element to the mix, it essentially did the same to hardcore as Torché did to stoner back in the day. But you'd have to be a goddamn wizard if you could've imagined Angel Du$t all of a sudden sounding like Presidents Of The United States Of America (yes, the band that wrote that 'millions of peaches' song) one album later. Heck, they went a full two-octaves higher from "Rock The Fuck On...", even introducing saxophone into the mix (see: "Bang My Drum"), and maxed out on the playful, tongue-in-cheek, at least stylistically speaking (many songs are about Justice Tripp's dog's death, so there's that contrast).

Imagine dropping the hardcore element entirely and converting it into light, indie-flavored pop-rock in the space of just three short years. Say goodbye to those high-energy two-step sessions live, eh? But believe it or not, "Pretty Buff" comes out as a solid album against all odds. Its light-hearted pop twists on songs like "Big Ass Love", "Biggest Girl" and "Want It All" are as charming as they are clever. It's still rather absurdly different from your dime-a-dozen band in the genre, carrying all the tell-tale signs that this is a band with an entirely different background attacking a genre and territory unfamiliar to them, resulting in a twist that's difficult to identify... but easy to notice is there. "Pretty Buff" was one of the strangest albums in 2019, given the context of the band that released it, but after the initial shock, it turns out to be a fun-filled party of infectiously catchy, rhythmic pop-rock songs with an alternative rock twist.

Download: Biggest Girl, Bang My Drum, Big Ass Love
For the fans of: Presidents Of The United States Of America, Violent Femmes, Free Energy
Listen: Facebook

Release date 15.03.2019
Roadrunner Records

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