Despite their journey starting less than a decade ago, The Bug Club has established a sound in which they should have the utmost confidence. Throughout several projects and numerous singles, the band penned cheeky songs about everything from the mundane to the unrealistic. Every topic covered is connected via experimental punk that pulls from jangly pop almost as much as it borrows from fuzzy garage rock. Since their first single was released in 2021, The Bug Club has shown no signs of stopping. Between their prolific release schedule and seemingly never-ending tour dates (The Bug Club allegedly has performed over 200 shows a year since their recording debut), the band is running around as if in fear of losing the creative spark that started it all. Nevertheless, The Bug Club doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, and they look to continue their hot streak with On The Intricate Inner Workings of the System.
The band’s third LP, and first for Sub Pop Records, is a proper introduction to an exciting young band that struck sonic gold on their first go-around. The fact that the band landed on such a refreshing take on pop fusion so early into their musical journey is mind-blowing, to begin with, but to hear it transform into the heady concoction of fuzzed-out psychedelic punk adds another layer to The Bug Club’s mystique. Following in the footsteps of lo-fi rockers like Daniel Johnston and R. Stevie Moore, The Bug Club’s OTIIWOTS blends otherworldly musicianship while filtering their observations of the world around them through a dry sense of humor. It is easy to get lost in the catchy hooks and jovial vocals of this 11-song outing. Still, underneath every joke about the modern world and quirky tweaks to a melody, the arrangement has a colorful world of masterful musicianship.
The Bug Club has established a quick sound with punches that come from all directions. Only two out of the eleven songs on the LP reach past the three-minute mark, but therein lies the beauty of OTIIWOTS. The band fits punchy guitar rhythms that explode into face-melting solos into tight pop-like structures, forcing their experimentation into a more infectious light. Miraculously, these short spurts are as satisfying and complex as a 13-minute Prog-rock song. Rather than stretch their narrative to fit unneeded verses, The Bug Club toss the bells and whistles to the side and break their music down to its bones. The skeletal remains are still able to feel full, and with the arrangements sorting out the dynamics of OTIIWOTS, the vocals and lyrics are free to roam.
The tight instrumentation is juxtaposed with the acrobatic vocals and sarcastic songwriting, but it isn’t all jokes this time around. Moments like “Actual Pain” may seem goofy on the surface, but moments like these reveal more about the artist than any of their previous releases. The old trope of comedians being tortured people reigns true for The Bug Club. There are dark undertones to OTIIWOTS to show us the band is more so joking to deal with their disgust of the outside world rather than attempting to be witty.
