Monday 9/14: Freak Heat Waves—"Busted"
Today, we share our thoughts on a recent song by the British Columbia post-punk band Freak Heat Waves.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a recent song by the British Columbia post-punk band Freak Heat Waves.
Freak Heat Waves—“Busted”
Eli Enis:
Freak Heat Waves are a dancey post-punk band from Victoria, British Columbia who make the type of music you’d hear throbbing through the walls of the last cool bar in your city of residence. The entirety of their new record Zap The Planet sounds a lot like its second song “Busted”, a thumping and joyously repetitive dancefloor cut built on vintage drum machines and even more vintage sounding synths. The record has a real groove to it that might not connect until you put it on and let it spin for a while, maybe let yourself tune out and zone back in when you hear a melody or kooky beat you dig. To me, “Busted” is such a great boogie song that just reeks of discounted PBR’s and fog machines in the best way possible. This is goth night intro music that makes me nostalgic for ending up at some dingy spot with a group of strangers, but also hits all the right pleasure centers for solo room vibes. I think “Busted” and Freak Heat Waves in general walk the line between creepy and unabashedly fun, and I can’t wait to crank this thing at the first post-COVID soirée.
Eric Bennett:
Look, I’m no rock purist, I love some quality bleeps and bloops as much as any queer. For some reason, I just can’t find a point of access for this. It’s got a good beat, and despite the main synth line just making me think of “The Message” in a manner that brings to mind the MST3K rule of homage, It’s pretty original. I'll say, it's never a good sign if something is under 5 minutes and I have to check to see how much is left, but I like that everything about it breathes and shines despite its repetition. Ultimately though, it feels inscrutable and I can’t seem to find any enjoyment out of it. I can tell this is on me as a listener, though, and not the band. I’m sure they made a good song, but not one for me.