Fake Fruit – ‘Mucho Mistrust’ album review: Infectiously chaotic post-punk
THE SKINNY: Today, the field of guitar-led post-punk music is so oversaturated that standing out from the crowd is more difficult than ever before. For a scene which first started as a means of rebellion and experimentation, a great deal of modern post-punk music has become formulaic, repetitive and, above all else, boring. Thankfully, bands like California trio Fake Fruit exist to show the rest of the movement that there is still a place for raucous experimentation and original compositions.
It has been a few years since we last heard from Oakland outfit Fake Fruit, who burst onto the scene back in 2021 with their self-titled debut record. Now, at long last, they have returned with the stunning sophomore effort Mucho Mistrust – which takes its title from the lyrics of the Blondie classic ‘Heart Of Glass’. In that sense, the album’s title is incredibly fitting, as Fake Fruit repeatedly pay tribute to their punk heroes while simultaneously pursuing new and interesting musical angles. On tracks like ‘Gotta Meet You’, for instance, the sounds of groups like Gang of Four and X-Ray Spex are abundantly clear, yet it still feels refreshingly original.
Summing up the sound of Fake Fruit succinctly is not an easy task. Over the course of Mucho Mistrust, the band darts sporadically from old-school punk to shoegaze, even to indie folk on the acoustic-led track ‘Sap’. This uncompromising diversity in sound prevents the album from ever feeling particularly repetitive or uninteresting. While, at points, Fake Fruit do risk bringing a formulaic approach to their music – starting gently and building to a colossal, distorted finale – the individual performances of the trio are so powerful that it is truly difficult to dislike these efforts.
In addition to the incredible cast of performers featured on this record, including those outside the core trio, in the form of Dylan Allard and Judith Horn, the lyrical content of Mucho Mistrust is certainly worth bringing attention to. With such captivating instrumentation, it would not be all that surprising if Fake Fruit phoned it in when it came to lyricism. Instead, the band created a variety of profound tracks, tackling topics of mental health struggles, modern life, the music industry, and free-market capitalism. It is an incredibly ambitious task, but one which Fake Fruit pull off flawlessly.
For fans of: Refusing to pay for therapy, choosing instead to exercise your emotions in the moshpit of an increasingly run-down local music venue.
A concluding comment from Ben’s girlfriend: “I couldn’t pay attention to the music because I was, instead, captivated by how much red paint the drummer accumulated on his clothes throughout the music video. Talk about dedication to the bit. Such dense artistry exceeds my attention.”
Much Mistrust track-by-track:
Release Date: August 23rd | Producer: Jack Shirley | Label: Carpark Records
‘See It That Way’: A fittingly disorientating start to the album; the Oakland outfit wastes no time in establishing their infectious and energetic post-punk rhythm. There are no self-aggrandising interludes or soundscapes to lull you into the record; it is raw power and rock ‘n’ roll from the very beginning. [4/5]
‘Mucho Mistrust’: Taking its title from the lyrics of Blondie’s ‘Heart of Glass’, the album’s eponymous track pays tribute to the eclectic range of influences Fake Fruit draws upon while reaffirming the power of their own voice. [3.5/5]
‘Gotta Meet You’: Exactly the kind of chaotic post-punk fun that I had hoped this album would conjure up. The Gang Of Four-esque jolting guitar track is perfectly complemented by including the appropriately named Judith Horn on the saxophone. [3.5/5]
‘Psycho’: Sadly, it is not a cover version of The Sonics’ stunning garage rock anthem, but Fake Fruit’s ‘Psycho’ is just as infectious. The consistently candid vocal performance of Hannah D’Amato is contrasted with the backing instrumentation, which is akin to some kind of sonic cacophony. [3/5]
‘Well Song’: Calling this song mellow would be heinously inaccurate, but its beginning does offer a more stripped-back glimpse at Fake Fruit as the band builds to the grand finale of the song, which returns to their raucous rock stylings. [3.5/5]
‘Más O Menos’: The punk influences of Fake Fruit are most abundant on this adrenaline-fueled anthem. Alex Post’s bassline is a particular highlight, though it is at risk of being lost in the distortion of the rest of the band at points. [4/5]
‘Long Island Iced Tea’: While this song is far from dull, it is probably the closest Mucho Mistrust gets to a filler track. For the majority of its runtime, it seems as if the band are simply biding their time to get to the explosive ending, which is at risk of becoming a formulaic approach. [2.5/5]
‘Venetian Blinds’: Although the sound of this track follows similar themes of countless other post-punk groups around the world, its instrumentation and performance are so strong that you simply cannot help but love it. [3.5/5]
‘Ponies’: Expertly altering the mood and tempo of the album, this track sees D’Amato and the band adopt a more personal approach to composition, turning down the chaos for a brief few moments. The changing pace of the album stops Mucho Mistrust from growing overly repetitive, which is a tricky task when it comes to this style. [4/5]
‘Cause of Death’: Lyrically, Fake Fruit are at their strongest on these gentler efforts, but that does not take away from the stunning instrumentation. This song, particularly, draws a lot from the world of shoegaze, though it has that unmistakable Fake Fruit touch. [3.5/5]
‘Sap’: Hearing Fake Frit playing an emotional, acoustic song feels unnatural – like seeing your teacher on a weekend. Admittedly, though, the results are hard to dispute, showcasing the diversity of the band’s sound. [4/5]
‘Too Soon’: It only seems right that such a rollercoaster of an album would finish with such a sonically diverse track. Despite being 12 tracks long, the ending of Mucho Mistrust has, indeed, come too soon. [4/5]
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