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Fake Fruit visceral indie rock operates so firmly in the present that its transportive and unmooring. The Oakland trio songs careen with volatile energy and lead singer Ham D Amato lyrics are enveloped with acerbic humor and resonant perceptiveness. Though their new LP Mucho Mistrust is a sly reference to a beloved Blondie lyric, the title encapsulates both the anxieties of daily life, a bloodless music industry, and global capitalism as well as the clear-eyed skepticism needed to rebel against it. Across 12 propulsively unpredictable tracks, the album is both their most collaborative and most immediate yet. Following the 2021 release of Fake Fruit self-titled debut LP, the bands personal lives hit a turbulent and transformational period. “There were big life changes and I was so close to boiling over,” says DAmato. “I left a bad relationship, entered a more stable and loving one, got diagnosed with alopecia, and Im turning 30 soon too.” This personal upheaval was channeled into the explosive lead single “Mucho Mistrust.” The track is simultaneously disorienting and direct, with clanging guitars from Alex Post, off-kilter drums from Miles MacDiarmid, and DAmato snarling, “How you gonna blame me / when you couldve done something about it / its not right / How you gonna marinate me / in shitty things overnight.” She explains, “This song was a snapshot of how I got through a difficult year.” Recorded live at the Bay Area Atomic Garden studio with producer Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Home Is Where), the bands palpable ferocity shines throughout the record. Single “Más o Menos” is searing punk, with buzzsaw guitars and surging bass. Its a clenched-fist song, one where DAmato sings, “I decided to assert myself / After I lost all my sense of self.” Later in the track, DAmato, who is Chicana, sings in Spanish, “¡No me hables! / ¡No escuchare!” While some of these songs deal in heartbreak, they are charged with way bigger themes. “There also wanting to break up with capitalism and feeling upset about things politically,” says DAmato. For the band, these themes are personal. “Im managing us while Im in between changing diapers in my day job as a nanny,” says DAmato. “Everyone in the band still believes in it and is motivated to keep wading through the bullshit.” On this album, they had no choice but to bet on themselves and each other. No track broadcasts their evolution better than the single “Cause of Death,” which morphs from a gorgeous sax-laden banger to something cathartic and anthemic. As adventurous and righteous as Mucho Mistrust gets, there still an inviting core that never takes itself too seriously. From the ripping “Cause of Death,” which self-deprecatingly takes aim at anxiety and indecision, to the searing title track, Fake Fruit imbue their songs with humor and heart. “Our band is fun,” says DAmato. “My number one coping mechanism for all of life is to joke about it. Even when the album talks about serious things, I am proud of how funny it can be.”
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