Star Fucking Hipsters
From the squats of New York City comes the Star Fucking Hipsters with their latest genre stomping gem, From the Dumpster to the Grave. This time around The Hipsters have aligned themselves with an all-star cast including The Coup/Street Sweeper Social Club’s Boot’s Riley & the gutter-folk of Blackbird Raum, along with members of Neurosis, Deadfall, Dystopia, & Chump Change. All of these guests are joining forces with Mikey Erg (the Ergs, the Soviettes, the Measure s.a. & many more) on the drums & returning Hipsters Frank Piegaro (Ensign, Degenerics), Chris Pothier (Dred Fabrik, Big Attack!), P. Nut (Ensign, Degenerics) & Yula Beeri (World/Inferno friendship society, Nanuchka, Yula & the Extended Family). Together they’ve picked up the torch Sturgeon aka Stza Crack first lit with Choking Victim & Leftover Crack. Now, SFH is back in effect with a new album that is somehow crust, ska, metal, punk, hip-hop, folk & hardcore all in one. From the Dumpster to the Grave comes out on Oct.11th via Fat Wreck Chords so get to listening to all of your other records now, because once this drops, you’ll be deep in the dumpster for the rest of the year sifting through the layers & nuances of this ambitious & eclectic album.
Formed from the temporarily out of commission Leftover Crack, Star Fucking Hipsters began in 2005, where they immediately imploded only to regroup in 2006 when songs were needed for a quickly recorded split between LOC and the legendary U.K. political ska-punks Citizen Fish. Since then, the Hipsters have seen several members come & go as Sturgeon & Frank have piloted the rotating cast into braver and more uncharted waters with each release. 2008’s Until We’re Dead, their Fat Wreck debut, was the world’s first taste of *SFH*’s ‘bubble gum crust.’ Then, the gang returned to Alternative Tentacles, home of Leftover Crack’s 2004 triumph Fuck World Trade, to help them deliver 2009’s Never Rest In Peace. Star Fucking Hipsters toured extensively over the course of 2010 while lead guitarist Frank Piegaro & Sturg started writing the songs for what would be the return to Fat Wreck Chords for their third volume, From The Dumpster to the Grave.
Forged deep in the fires of Motor Studios, From the Dumpster to the Grave is a twelve-track adventure through a landscape of crunchy guitars, massive crescendos, pounding drums, aggressive female vocals from O.G. Hipsters Nico & Yula Beeri with new Hipster Kelsy, and of course Sturg’s trademark crust screeches & punk yelps. Considering all of the talent on hand, and the proven song writing abilities of Sturg & Frank, it’s no surprise that the album is a masterwork of the semi-fictional Crack Rock Steady & Bubble-Gum Crust genres. The 12 tracks on From the Dumpster To the Grave span several genres including punk, ska, hip hop, metal, folk & Latino-rock, all wrapped in a hardcore shell. The intertwined male and female vocals harmonize and shriek over crunching guitars, soulful Bass-lines & hard-hitting drums.
Despite the varied influences and aggressive force behind them, the songs maintain a concise and direct sound infused with infectious melodies. The lyrical content of the album seethes over sociopolitical injustices in the arenas of bigotry, class injustice, religious hypocrisy, police brutality, war profiteering, Immigrant rights & America’s trademark sycophantic docility & worldwide terror. As pioneers of the anarcho-punk/crust/ska genres, Star Fucking Hipsters (and all of Sturg’s bands, for that matter) generate a certain level of expectation. From the Dumpster To the Grave completely surpasses those expectations by delivering the Hipsters best material to date. Even by the standards of SFH fans, this album is a bold progression for a band already renowned for taking risks’ and telling preconceptions to kindly go fuck themselves.
