Fugue State
Western Massachusetts has a new face of weirdo punk in the likes of Fugue State, who are slated to release their debut LP “In The Lurch” in the spring of 2025 with support from Philadelphia label Strange Mono.
Originating in 2022 as a solo project of songwriter Shane Bruno (Bridge of Flowers), the music of FUGUE STATE is drenched in cavernous echo, searing Soviet fuzz, and raw urgency, accosting the listener through a makeshift telephone mic about ruminations on themes of existential peril, hometown blight, relationships, and other stream of consciousness pontificating.
“In The Lurch” marks Fugue State’s full band debut. Bruno originally recruited Gage O’Brien and fellow Bridge of Flowers comrade Jon Hanson to form a band and reanimate the 2023 six-song EP “Subtlety’s Dead” for live performance. This proved so successful that they managed to churn out enough material to fill out a record, doing so in urgent process.
The resulting effort elaborates on the first release and draws on influences like Pere Ubu and Roxy Music, focused through the lens of contemporary garage rock, punk, and psychedelia. The band’s live sound has drawn comparisons to Butthole Surfers, Crime, The Flesh Eaters, and “The Gun Club if they took mushrooms instead of dope.”
Adding to their eclectic sound, In The Lurch features guest appearances by Wednesday Knudsen (Pigeons, Stella Kola) on tenor saxophone and Vigilance Brandon (Trance Macabre) on trumpet, showcasing the band’s openness to unconventional instrumentation.
The LP will be released on a one-off pressing of 200 vinyl records via Fugue State and Strange Mono. There will also be a limited cassette release, with proceeds supporting mutual aid funds. Fugue State is building a unique niche in the punk genre by blending raw energy, experimental noise, and a DIY ethos that is sure to resonate with weirdo music fans.
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Track By Track Interview Breathing The Core
“This is over the top, frenetic and frantic. It starts high pitched and wacky and dissolves into just psych incoherence and total weirdness, are Fugue State trying too hard? I don’t think so. Think of a bastard offspring of the immense Butthole Surfers and Jello Biafra, sadly a match we never saw together. The last track is the culmination of the record with a sound that feels too much like a mind fracturing as you watch, just buy the damn thing and make them famous.” – Fighting Boredom
“Born out of the DIY and punk scene here in Western Massachusetts, the band Fugue State reminds me of a time when rock and roll still had social utility and indie wasn’t just a searchable genre on Spotify” – Hot Plate
“Beautifully crafted and demented driving garage rock tunes with more hooks than a meat locker, and some killer saxophone playing on two of the tracks. FUGUE STATE combines elements of tons of classics without sounding like aping them at all.” – Maximum RNR
“Fugue State presents an upbeat, grungy depiction of old-school punk rock. With reverberated vocals (reminiscent of early Les Claypool), fuzzy guitar tones and audial hisses all over the place, ‘Subtlety’s Dead’ is a proper call back to a time when music was routinely presented in raw form to represent the most jubilant crowds of fractious souls. Even at just sixteen minutes in length, there is enough output here to satisfy the tortured umbra that resides in all of us. This makes for a great driving album, especially when blasting it at loud volumes.” – The Dungeon In Deep Space
“[Facts] The fundamental structure of the composition is straightforward, complemented by an assertive guitar track that refuses to compromise. The entirety of the track can be interpreted as a middle finger directed toward the entire music industry.” – INDIEFFERENTIAL
“Short tracks, good ideas on guitar, rock without frills, I think as much about the BLUES EXPLOSION (‘mundane man’ etc..) than to BUTTHOLE SURFERS (‘the pipeline’).” – STNT
“It’s time to get crunched. Fugue State angles toward the ground floor with stochastic rhythms and jagged guitar textures.” – Foxy Digitalis
“Free association meets garage punk sleaze. A rumination on the noisy, the unclear, and the uncertain.” – Thoughts Words Actions
“Fugue State have created a fresh sound that is crunchy, in-your-face and relentlessly catchy,” – ThePunkSite
“Captures the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll but pushes the limits on melody” – Scene Point Blank