The good news is that the first new music from Violent Femmes in 15 years sounds exactly like the Violent Femmes. Recorded on New Year’s Eve in Hobart and originally released for Record Store Day, Happy New Year doesn’t take the band’s sound anywhere new, and I wouldn’t want it to either. It is full of joy, and for a band that’ve endured their fair share of feuds and member-on-member lawsuits over the last 35 years, hearing them have fun is pretty amazing.
If you’re a fan of Gordon Gano’s whiny yet energetic singing and big blowy saxophone lines, pick up this EP. The opening cut, Happy New Year, is a simple, goofy track that sticks a drunken smile on your face. It’s followed by the dark tango, Love Love Love Love Love, and Good For/At Nothing,both of which have the enthusiastic bitterness of vintage Femmes. The EP is closed out by Fast Horses, a slower, reflective track featuring one of Brian Ritchie’s signature wandering bass lines. The band are reportedly recording material for a new album as we speak, but for the time being, Happy New Year lives up to its name.
BY JACK FRANKLIN
