Seattle hardcore punk collective FUCKED AND BOUND are pleased to unveil their angst-ridden cover of Sonic Youth’s “Kool Thing.” The track appears on the limited-edition reissue of the band’s Suffrage LP, set for release December 18th via Quiet Panic.
A band whose existence is essential for these times, FUCKED AND BOUND encapsulates the frenetic energy, confrontational anger, and increasing anxiety that so many are feeling. Initially released in 2018 by Atomic Action! Records, the 2020 edition of Suffrage includes the “Kool Thing” cover track as well as new album artwork by guitarist Brian McClelland (He Whose Ox Is Gored) and serves as a bridge piece to the band’s 2021 full-length.
Notes vocalist Lisa Mungo, “Our cover of Sonic Youth’s ‘Kool Thing’ was originally a part of a compilation put together by the incomparable Kim Kelly, a freelance journalist and organizer based in Philadelphia. She is currently the labor columnist for Teen Vogue, and her writings on labor, politics, and culture have appeared in the New Republic, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, Pacific Standard, and many others. The compilation, Riffs For Reproductive Justice, was a pay-what-you-want Bandcamp compilation organized by Kim Kelly, that resulted in a collected work made up of metal, hardcore, punk, and dark folk songs (many of them exclusive new, live, covers, or demo tracks) from a wide range of artists all having united to raise money for abortion access.
“I’ve always been inspired by [Sonic Youth bassist/guitarist/vocalist] Kim Gordon’s lifelong commitment to making art on her own terms,” Mungo continues. “Kim Gordon, being one of my earliest influences, paired with the fact that we had just hit the studio, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect and we were happy to contribute this track for such an important cause. The threat to reproductive health is ongoing! 100% of proceeds from the Riffs For Reproductive Justice compilation were donated to the National Network Of Abortion Funds (abortionfunds.org) and the Yellowhammer Fund (yellowhammerfund.org). Upon Suffrage’s full release, 100% percent of digital sales made from the track ‘Kool Thing’ direct from FUCKED AND BOUND‘s Bandcamp page will be donated to the same two organizations. Abortion is health care. Health care is a human right. We won’t go back!”
View the band’s previously-released video for “Terror” HERE.
Despite the name, Seattle’s FUCKED AND BOUND feels fundamentally untethered. They’ve achieved an air of unhinged freedom mainly by thrashing their way through unassuming, beloved punk venues, writhing across unwashed floors and DIY spaces, hosting their own sort of hardcore communal exorcisms – participation mandatory.
In simpler, pre-pandemic times, Mungo is a full frontal, feral assault to those who bear witness to the band. The majority of her time is spent throwing herself into the fray, forcing interaction, wildly occupying a headspace that exposes her natural effervescence and intimacy just as much as the reckless abandon, anger and nihilism that can be found in their lyrics. In a way that not many others can, Mungo fearlessly elicits nearly fanatical enthusiasm, even from those who have never previously heard the band. She can be seen stepping on stage with a dozen red roses to hand out, and five minutes later, tearing off her clothes and screaming viciously into the faces of unsuspecting attendees in the pit. This juxtaposition of tenderness and aggression, romance and filth, is a perfect metaphor for the band’s music as a whole.
All the while, drummer Matt Chandler, bassist Rah Davis (Cattle Decapitation), and guitarist Brian McClelland (He Whose Ox Is Gored) allow Mungo the space to fully transform, howling and rabid, as they tear through their own grimy d-beats and breakneck grindcore riffs in a nuanced way. Their collective ethos appears firmly rooted in feminism and radical righteousness – unapologetically so.
