EndAnd: Fun Times With Shitty People

Fun Times With Shitty People has to be one of the best album titles of the year, in this case an EP from Brooklyn-based garage/punk rockers EndAnd. The band has been gaining word-of-mouth since the 2012 release of Adventures of Fi in Space, an apt description of their sound. Vocalist/guitarist Dan Fern, bassist Daniel Fogarty and drummer Mike Morales call themselves a punk band, but the power trio bring a distorted grunge rock sound to the party as well. Fern has a low-fi yet deliciously fuzzy guitar tone that elevates the band’s sound from standard punk, as do his wild psychedelic lead guitar breaks.

The band has headlined the CMJ Festival Noise Rock stage and seem primed to breakout on the garage rock scene. Their raucous sound and irreverent yet hip lyrics recall the vibe of the Henry Clay People out of Los Angeles. EndAnd aren’t quite as polished with their songwriting, but there’s a similar self-deprecating satire in their lyrical commentary and a high energy sound that would make for a great double bill.

“Art #1” opens the EP with a blast of high-octane punk rock, featuring some metal and grunge vibes mixed in. There’s also a short lead guitar break, indicating a band that might fit in better with the early ‘90s alt-grunge scene rather than the Warped Tour.

“Choked on Beer” is a zeitgeist anthem with its fuzzy guitar sound and infectious vocals from Fern, who sounds like he’s just as much into the Replacements and Mudhoney as any pure punk influences. There’s more guitar talent here than one finds in most punk bands and it elevates EndAnd’s sound significantly. “Much and More About Everything” keeps the fuzzy guitar chords going and sounds a bit like early Nirvana and Soundgarden. “I Don’t Party” is more of a straight up punk romp, but features a surging psychedelic bridge section. The screamy vocals don’t have the hook of some of the other songs, but Fern’s passionate delivery keeps the high energy vibe going (as does Morales’ furious drumming).

The band saves two of the best songs for last. “I Used to Eat Shit But Now I Pick It Up” is a song for the recessionary times of the Obama era, with the country continuing to drift along into an economic meltdown that the mainstream media continues to obscure. Leave it to a punk band to deliver the truth. “I’m a good citizen, I do my taxes and keep my credit score clean”, growls Fern, sounding a bit like Dave Mustaine on Megadeth’s 1986 classic “Peace Sells (But Who’s Buying?)” Then Fern rips off a blistering guitar solo. He doesn’t have the chops of a Dave Mustaine, but Fern can still melt some face.

“Fuck You Congresswoman Bullshit and Your Shit Staff” delivers a timely punk commentary just like the title indicates. It starts with just Fern and his guitar, before the band kicks in for another blast of grunge power that rails against the do-nothing Congress that keeps the war chest full while the real unemployment rate hovers in double digits. “I was born to be the man to make this song”, sings Fern like a rock soldier who can stomach no more of America’s broken and dysfunctional political system. The EP clocks in at a mere 13 minutes and change, but the songs are ripe for rocking out in the live setting. There’s also several great candidates for any mixtape that seeks to put a soundtrack to America’s discontent in 2014.