ALBUM REVIEW: Grumpster – Grumpster

Following up their sophomore album Fever Dream (2022), GRUMPSTER‘s third album is raw, self-titled effort with a focus on mental health. The album was written during the Bay Area punk quartet’s first face-to-face meetings after the pandemic, and the collaborative nature of this effort is evident throughout the lyrics of the 11 songs on offer here.

The album’s opener and lead single Wither is an up-beat punk song that you can’t help but dance along to, however the lyrics are raw as they openly explore the struggles of disordered eating. This juxtaposition of an up-beat song and sad lyrics makes for a great representation of mental health struggles as everything can seem fine on the outside, but internally someone can be struggling a lot.

Just For Fun is a notably grungier song that sees guitarist Alex Hernandez – who debuts on this album after having previously been a touring member – take centre stage on the vocals. Whilst the song is mostly instrumental, Hernandez‘s vocals are rough and coarse and work in great contrast to the tracks sung by bassist and vocalist Donnie Walsh, who has a softer singing voice. The album isn’t perfect, as some of the songs, such as SSBpt2, are very short. Whilst it is more of an interlude and transitions perfectly into Sun, it is a song that could’ve been a bit more fleshed out as its sing-along nursery rhyme lyric delivery is a very interesting concept.

Then again, this is a punk album, and the majority of punk songs are short, snappy and to the point. Grumpster does this really well – for the most part – as it isn’t bogged down by extra long songs. Sometimes less is more. The majority of the songs are under three minutes, but they all have their own distinct identity, such as the grunge-punk of the aforementioned Sun, the mid-tempo indie rock of Bern Needs His Meds, and the hard rock of Bottom Feeder.

Despite all the songs having their own unique sound, the pacing of the album is solid and steady. If Fever Dream was the band officially introducing themselves to the wider world as it was their major label debut, this self-titled album is GRUMPSTER broadening their horizons. There are some weaker tracks, like Grey, whose lyrics get quite repetitive throughout its two-minute runtime even as it turns itself into a fast-paced punk anthem, but most of the other songs are great, so moments like these are easily forgiven.

Overall, Grumpster is a fantastic level up from Fever Dream. Whilst it might have a couple of songs that don’t quite hit the mark, the rest of the album is well-paced, fantastically produced and a clear passion project for the band. GRUMPSTER have mastered the art of quality not quantity, and are quickly proving that the future of punk is safe in their hands.

Rating: 9/10

Grumpster is out now via Pure Noise Records.

Like GRUMPSTER on Facebook.