Fuzzbubble “Cult Stars From Mars”

There are some bands who deliver an absolute classic album and then just seem to disappear from view. That’s certainly the case with Fuzzbubble who released their brilliant self-titled album way back in 2000 (boy does that make us feel old!). That album was a great slice of rocky power pop. So when we stumbled on the news that, all these years later, they’ve released a new album, then we had to hear it.

The title song opens the album and it’s an absolute belter! It actually had us fondly remembering the awesome Marvelous 3… just imagine that bands pop rock at it’s poppiest best. That’s some compliment given Marv 3 (and Butch Walker) are one of our favourite bands. It’s been a long time since a band has really nailed that pop rock sound like Fuzzbubble do on tracks like “Can’t Wait to See You” and “By My Side”. They perfectly manage to be catchy songs that are sweet enough to get you addicted but not too saccharine as to make you ill!

The thing we love about this album is that it can’t fail to make you feel happy. If songs like “Funny Face” don’t brighten your mood and make you feel better then you need to check you’re still alive. It’s also an album that will get your memory going and send you back to your record collection. The moment you hear the perfect pop of “Regretfully Yours” you will be digging out your Jellyfish albums and then “I Like That Song” will send back to the early prime days of Enuff Z’ Nuff. That’s before the “Goodbye Dear Friends” piano ballad goes right back to the source of power pop with it’s clear Beatles influence.

Whilst we were delighted to know that Fuzzbubble were back, it did raise the question if they could really capture that old sound again. The answer is not only can they do that, but they can make it even better. It may be a bit early in the year to say this, but we think you’ll struggle to find another release this year that manages to deliver so many brilliant pop rock songs. Forget your troubles and allow Fuzzbubble to bring some sparkle back in to your life.