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Akin to Andy Kaufman's character Tony Clifton who aimed to antagonize and scorn crowds, Wonder Bread is Matt Ferrera's vessel for spewing vitriol at the punk posturers around him. Sonically similar to Tuxedomoon, With pulsing synths/ guitar interplay layered over drum machines, Wonder Bread aims to clear the room with lyrics like "I love progressive rock, if you don't like Steely Dan, you can fuck off”, and “Your parents were probably listening to Styx, your parents were probably listening to Journey, that explains why your not cool”. Having released 7(!) tapes last year on Bay Area label Discontinuous Innovation Inc this 7" highlights the best of this output along with the unreleased track "My Dad Was In A Hardcore Band". Pressing of 500 with 100 copies on transparent gold vinyl.
Our take: Debut vinyl from this one-person project. Four of these five songs represent the cream of earlier cassette releases (none of which I’ve heard) and there’s one exclusive track, “My Dad Was in a Hardcore Band.” It’s funny that this 7” arrives at Sorry State the same week the Egg Punk / Chain Punk meme(https://i.imgur.com/lzChCbg.png) took over the online punk world because one could interpret the central conceit of “My Dad Was in a Hardcore Band” as an egg punk critique of chain punk. Maybe that’s a stretch, but I thought it would be a funny line to include in this description. Anyway, Wonder Bread remind me of projects like Spodee Boy, BB Eye, and Race Car, i.e. bedroom recording projects by people who are into Devo, but were weaned on hardcore and/or Ramones-based punk, which smoothes out some of Devo’s art-ier edges. Wonder Bread are good at the sound, and if you’re a fan of the aforementioned groups, you’ll like what they do. However, more than their music, the defining aspect of Wonder Bread is their irreverence. Three of the five songs (at least) are spoofs of “the scene,” their primary target being that most parody-able of foibles, pretension. Interestingly, though, my favorite track here, “1011,” is the EP’s least irreverent moment. The interplay between the instruments is something special, reminding me of how the Australian band Brando’s Island uses a vibraphone to create an unsettling atmosphere. Complete Solid Gold Hits is a strong debut and I hope it’s not the last we hear of Wonder Bread.
Our take: Debut vinyl from this one-person project. Four of these five songs represent the cream of earlier cassette releases (none of which I’ve heard) and there’s one exclusive track, “My Dad Was in a Hardcore Band.” It’s funny that this 7” arrives at Sorry State the same week the Egg Punk / Chain Punk meme(https://i.imgur.com/lzChCbg.png) took over the online punk world because one could interpret the central conceit of “My Dad Was in a Hardcore Band” as an egg punk critique of chain punk. Maybe that’s a stretch, but I thought it would be a funny line to include in this description. Anyway, Wonder Bread remind me of projects like Spodee Boy, BB Eye, and Race Car, i.e. bedroom recording projects by people who are into Devo, but were weaned on hardcore and/or Ramones-based punk, which smoothes out some of Devo’s art-ier edges. Wonder Bread are good at the sound, and if you’re a fan of the aforementioned groups, you’ll like what they do. However, more than their music, the defining aspect of Wonder Bread is their irreverence. Three of the five songs (at least) are spoofs of “the scene,” their primary target being that most parody-able of foibles, pretension. Interestingly, though, my favorite track here, “1011,” is the EP’s least irreverent moment. The interplay between the instruments is something special, reminding me of how the Australian band Brando’s Island uses a vibraphone to create an unsettling atmosphere. Complete Solid Gold Hits is a strong debut and I hope it’s not the last we hear of Wonder Bread.