Feeling worn down? Run over by life? Like you’re constantly at the mercy of malevolent forces beyond your control?
If you’ve survived the last few years, the answer is probably “yes.” But sweet vindication is here in the form of Puddy, the Canadian indie quartet that’s back after a prolonged absence with its triumphant revenge fantasy of a track, “What Do You Want?”
An eminently singable burst of punked-up fury, the song finds the band hurling invective at a “parasite” whose “meal ticket” has just been canceled after years of abused privileges. And from the way singer/guitarist Paolo Rizzo snarls out the chorus lyric, you can tell this is a man who’s well and truly over it.
What more do you want from me?
What more can you take from me?
Ain’t nothing to break in me
Nothing left to take from me
Puddy are recognized as pioneers of Canadian punk rock, but there’s nothing laid back about the way Rizzo’s and JV Bonhomme’s overdriven guitars and Tim Reesor’s lurching bass nail the unnamed tormentor to the wall, only for Eric Cohen’s drums to pummel him about the head in repeated, righteously indignant bursts.
The song, out now, along with an accompanying music video in which the group is seen wandering through a hazy limbo that’s meant to symbolize the mental fog induced by a life of setbacks. It’s an apt metaphor indeed for the less-than-linear career trajectory Puddy has followed since its founding in 1993 – a series of ups and downs recounted with endearing self-deprecation on the outfit’s official website, puddy.tv.
Having members scattered to the far-flung corners of Timmins, Niagara and Montreal hasn’t helped things any. Yet the band has defied distance and countless other obstacles to mount a comeback album, Demagogo, co-produced by Andy Curran (Envy of None) with Paolo and mixed by Vic Florencia (Danko Jones). “What Do You Want” is the opening salvo in that eagerly anticipated return to active duty, which culminates with the release of the full album in the spring. In the interim, Puddy will hone the new material at two specially arranged shows: one on Friday, January 19, at Camp Cataract in Niagara Falls, and the other on Saturday, January 20, at Bovine Sex Club in Toronto. Ticket pricing for each is set at a highly reasonable $10, as an intentional throwback to the cost of admission at the group’s last gig all the way back in 2012. In this case at least, the answer to the question “What do you want from me?” is “Way less than you’d be willing to pay.”
