Bonus Fat

VINYL FORMAT. So-called because of the two bonus tracks that surfaced on this reissue of Fat, specifically the two sides from the group's original single, "Ride the Wild"/It's a Hectic World." Aukerman hadn't joined the group yet, while the music is actually gentle, surf-inspired power pop more than anything else. "Ride the Wild" is a classic enough lament over a lyin' girl with Navetta's semi-tremolo twang doing what it can, vocals left down in the mix. "It's a Hectic World," meanwhile, is even more explicitly surfy in ways, but with a nervous, flat new wave edge to it as well — not quite Devo if they grew up on the coast, but there's something to that comparison. - AMG