You don’t forget a name like Fucko. With today’s premiere, a full-length called Social Climber (out on Midnight Werewolf Records) the grungy/pop rock band will make sure you don’t forget their music, either. The three-piece group is based in Boston, and definitely sounds it. With fuzzy guitars and moody vocals, their songs are have a way of worming their way into your brain, and sticking.
On Fucko’s one and only previous record, Dealing with The Weird (2016), the fuzz is real. The bass is loud, the guitar sludges through chord progressions, and lead vocalist Sarah Desmarais powerfully projects simple lyrics. It doesn’t sound like music that anyone would guess is her first real foray into playing guitar and writing songs, but it is. “I started playing guitar when I was twenty-seven. I had been in bands but I didn’t really write songs,” she says. “I played classical piano, was self-taught, and I did that throughout high school. But I didn’t start doing songs until my last band broke up and I learned how to play guitar.”
That last band was Poison Ivy League. Sarah and her brother, Jake Desmarais, played together in that band for six years. The summer after they broke up, though, it was decided. “I was like, ‘I want to learn how to play guitar!’” she says. “And then Fucko started.”
That was 2015. Now, with help from Jake, along with drummer Derek Desharnais, Fucko does pretty well for themselves. They wrote Social Climber together, collaborating on each song spontaneously. Jake, who played and wrote songs throughout high school and started producing for bands in college, purposely writes just very basic parts. “Then Derek will figure out drums, and often it will be different than what I was expecting. But, because I hadn’t built out the whole song, it’s totally fine. We just figure out what it’s going to be.”
“You should be in a band because you want to collaborate on the music,” he says. And that effort seems to be a theme— not just Fucko as a band, but the concept of their new record. When asked what the thinking was behind a title like Social Climber was, Sarah says that “social climbing is necessary, but then also kind of toxic.” It’s that aspect of forced socializing, of “needing to go to shows, reach out and meet people and know people” that can be exhausting, she explains.
Jake chimes in: “If you’re going to put out a record, it’s not like you don’t want to participate in the community, but you almost have to do it in an aggressive way.”
Part of the social advancement of a band is, obviously, participating on social media. Look at groups like Potty Mouth, Clairo, even Future Teens. They’re all able to evoke that really specific cleverness, relevance, and constantness on their social channels. And in a fairly short span of time, they’ve all seen varying amounts of success. It doesn’t make them lesser artists, by any means. But, to Sarah, there is a certain mindset that coincides with the ability of a band to climb that social ladder in an effective way. She articulates it simply: “You just need to make your band more of a business, is what it feels like to me. And I don’t do music for that reason,” she says.
In many ways, the Boston scene knows this sentiment to be true. Fucko doesn’t play live shows necessarily often— the band actually prides themselves on it. They haven’t put out new music in three years. Their Instagram appears to be only a month old. Hell, when searching for background info for this piece, there were no other long-form interviews to be found.
But whether their band is a business or not, Fucko’s music does deserve to be listened to and championed. Their sound is surprising. They’re always managing to sneak in pop elements alongside roaring bass lines and melody-driven guitar. The band described themselves as “educational music listeners.” Sarah pulls inspiration from The Beths and All Dogs but listens to Carol King and Wings on the side, while Jake isn’t afraid to take a deep dive into Queen’s B-sides for a few weeks, all the while appreciating Hop Along, Tenement, and others. According to the pair of siblings, their bandmate Derek, who’s in the band Sneeze, only listens to Nirvana. These all-over-the-map musical interests paired with the band members’ sheer attention to detail ring out on their newest record.
It’s safe to say that what Fucko is doing is working. Listeners come back for more. Fans “can recognize a song that we’ve only played live a couple times,” according to Jake. Their songs are truly catchy. They’re also loud. “I don’t necessarily think we have a ton of energy,” Sarah notes, “but that is my favorite part.”
Translating that volume and energy into the recording process can be tricky, however. With Jake’s aforementioned production experience, Fucko recorded Dealing With the Weird themselves. Social Climber, though, was the band’s first studio experience. Although they recorded the album’s twelve songs in just a couple days, using a studio enabled the musicians to focus on the performing aspect of the record. Sarah’s powerful vocals push through on the record. They’re strong, clear, and emo af (with just the right amount of Jake’s harmonization in the background). The guitar’s chord progressions are tight but still heavy. Bass lines are brought to the forefront on songs like “Used To Be” and “Vindictive.” Drummer Desharnais brings elements of hardcore to their sound. There’s even a rainstick (that’s right, a rainstick) on the record.
But just because this new release is good, doesn’t mean that fans should expect Fucko to start extensively touring, play local venues every week, or pack up and move to Philly. “I lived all over the place. In the South, in New York, you name it. And I just really like New England,” Sarah, who’s originally from New Hampshire, shrugs. “As for staying in the city, I think that’s going to be tough given rent and the cost of living here. But I don’t think that we’re moving anytime soon.”
“I think the scene here is just very good,” Jake says, expanding on her point. “There’s a lot of places you could be where you can’t every night go to a show if you wanted to. In Boston, you can do that.” All in all, it’s clear that Fucko’s Social Climber proves to be anything but a stereotypical sophomore slump. But, then again, Fucko is anything but stereotypical.
Stream Social Climber below:
Catch Fucko tonight, with Twin Foxes, Hexpet, and Nanny at O’Brien’s (21+) or one of their upcoming shows:
05/17 – Boston, MA @ O’Brien’s
05/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Planet Phitness
05/19 – Rollinsford, NH @ Sue’s w/ Rick Rude