So What - Hard Gum
Surfin’ Ki Records / Just Add Water Records
Straight from California’s junkshop of glam comes the debut album of Oakland’s own So What. Scuffling in on hot pink wax, ex-members from the likes of Parasites, Black Cat Music and The Fells (just to name a few) are bound to make you clap your hands and stomp your feet to the crazee ‘hard gum’ beat. So put on your dancing shoes and get ready for some fuzz and bovver with So What’s “Hard Gum” for Just Add Water Records and Surfin’ Ki Records!
The LP starts off with the buzzing “What Do You Do To Me”. Originally released on a 45 in 2014, this scorcher has been re-recorded for “Hard Gum”, making it available in stereo for the very first time! Its raucous guitars, hand-claps, stomping beat and harmonic back-up vocals could easily set the tone for the rest of the record, until “Don’t Wanna Come Back To You” kicks in though. Mid-tempo, rockin’ and a fuzzing guitar solo are instantly showing So What’s diversity, but the inevitable hand-claps are always there though. You simply can’t live without them. Because even if they’re not there, you’ll be making noise with your hands one way or another!
Mixing hard glam with hints of power pop (or pop punk as you may like) and a bit of that rockin’ garage sound, So What definitely saved the best for last though! Because as much as I enjoy the album as a whole, the synth on “Where We Goin’”, the riotous “My Life Is Tight” and the recent single “Why Can’t I See You Tonight” are absolute favorites. Especially the latter, that builds up to the perfect sing-along climax before calling it a night (or an album for that matter) of hard dancin’ and boozin’, tears the place up!
As mentioned earlier, “Hard Gum” is available on pink wax (Surfin’ Ki Records, European edition, 100 copies), but also on blue (Just Add Water Records, American edition, 100 copies) and black (300 copies) vinyl. Just make sure you get your hands on one of the three if you’re into the whole ‘bovverevival’, you definitely won’t be disappointed! Hard!
