And they f**ked us good
Normally when a band issues a rerelease, it’s because they’re some seemingly authoritative band with years if not decades worth of discographical entries to relish. People have seen it numerous times before—Born of Osiris redid The Eternal Reign and Katatonia redid Viva Emptiness 10 years after their original releases, Megadeth did a whole damn remastered series and even Bad Brains got in on it with Rock for Light. The weight a band’s name or discography holds doesn’t always need factor in though, and that’s something Seattle’s Fucked and Bound surely proved. The quartet has only been around for two years and in that time span, have released some of the most intense music to be heard in a while. Their debut Suffrage came out just two days after Valentine’s Day in 2018 and was met with such love and adoration they decided to re-release it. As expected, it hits just as hard now as it did then, if not more.
Despite being a full-length, Suffrage doesn’t even clock in at a full 23 minutes. Still, Fucked and Bound use the time, albeit hasty, quite well. That’s in part thanks to vocalist Lisa Mungo, who takes the 34 seconds of intro “Wild Thing” and does to it exactly what their band name entails. It establishes the vocal rage listeners hear throughout the record, accompanied by filthy d-beat and grinding hardcore. “Terror” and “Zero Fucks” emote a sense of visceral hatred (honestly, the whole record does), though they’re lyrically hard to understand (honestly, the whole album is). “Creeps on the Street” provides the cleanest vocally, where people are able to make out Mungo’s severe and warranted disdain for the catcalls of creepy men. Bassist Rah Davis, drummer Matt Chandler and guitarist Brian McClelland aid in communicating that contempt with raucous outputs.
It’s hard to point out particular points on Suffrage, as each one is equally blistering, going by so fast and so enjoyably discordant it’s difficult to stop and take in at individual moments. One track of note is the only thing (besides the new album artwork) that really sets this reissue apart from the original—their cover of Sonic Youth’s “Kool Thing.” Not only is it one of the only other instances where people can understand what’s being sang, but it also showcases Mungo’s abilities to vocalize outside of screams and shrieks. It does the original instrumental justice as well, though expressed through hardcore tones.
Even though Suffrage didn’t need to be re-released, the fact that it was serves as a reminder of exactly what Fucked and Bound is capable of. They’re true to d-beat, hardcore and grind and do them all quite well, and this reissue is set to make sure people don’t forget that.
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