Song of the Day: FF - Dusted

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Every Friday, we spotlight a Northwest band. Today’s selection, featured on the Morning Show with John Richards is "Dusted" by Seattle's FF from their 2012 self-released demo.

FF - Dusted (MP3)

You have to love what we saw with Seattle rock this year. Bands like Naomi Punk and Nu Sensae are bringing the noise back to the birthplace of grunge, and with a kickass demo and a cassette available at their shows, FF has come to join the party. In sweeping genre terms, they describe themselves as "shoegaze-y punk", which should bring smiles to some of your faces. This year the indie scene saw a lot of new shoegaze and a lot of dazed bands with dark sunglasses that loved namedropping My Bloody Valentine for street cred. But thank God, FF is not one of those bands. FF hails captures the weird, disorienting mixture of distortion, rage, and quiet melody that made records like MBV's Isn't Anything so magical. On other tracks, they tend towards the unsettled but melodic noise punk of mid to late 80s Sonic Youth. Yes, these are some pretty big claims, but FF seriously deserves it.

"Dusted" is a great example of the latter of those two sounds ("Deadhead", the other track on their free demo tape, is a good example of the former). Fuzzy guitars dominate the track up front and in your face, pushed up to maximum levels on the track, while singer Harley Thompson's quiet snarl holds back the fury a bit. The tune is 3 minutes of relentless pummeling - half the time, you are almost expecting the track to burst into flame and disintegrate. But the band is tight despite the noise, and "Dusted" serves as a great introduction to this great new Seattle act.

Grab "Dusted" above, and listen to three more FF songs at their Bandcamp. Also, check their Bandcamp for shows - they've got one coming up at Cairo in February - and tune in to KEXP when they are live on air on January 5, 2013.