You’re about to get hit with a lot of information, so buckle up. The Fizz Fuzz will release their second full-length, Deserts, Mountains, Oceans, on March 14 through Taxi Driver Records and Slush Fund Recordings. Last heard from not so terribly long ago with 2020’s debut album, Palmyra (review here), the Santa Rosa, California, outfit centers around the core duo of guitarist/vocalist Dawn Brown and vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dandy Brown, the latter of whom, in addition to solo work under his own name, is a veteran of desert heavy outfits like the John Garcia-led Hermano, as well as Orquesta del Desierto — as much a dug-in weirdo myth as they ever were a band — Yawning Sons, and others.

Across the utterly manageable eight songs and 36 minutes of Deserts, Mountains, Oceans — recorded between Italy and Georgia, as one does — and in collaboration with drummer Steve Earle of Afghan Whigs (who wrote one song and co-wrote another as well), Isaak bassist Gabriele Carta, and with guest spots from Mike Reeder, Keith Murphy, and Mark Engel (also Orquesta del Desierto), the Browns offer an inviting take on desert blues, sweet punk and self-assured heavy rock, basking in tonal and melodic richness from the opening strums of “Statues” (premiering below) onward as Dawn and Dandy trade and share lead vocal duties. United by a universal lack of pretense, the material is classic in structure and neither playing to genre nor forgetting from whence the band comes in terms of style — and yes, there’s a good bit of fuzz throughout.

Some fizz as well, if by that we mean the vital electric undercurrent that allows “Statues” to begin a build of momentum that continues through the subsequent “Deaf and Dumb,” which feels brief and hooky at 4:06 with Dawn taking the fore vocally; since Dandy fronts “Statues,” that establishes the back and forth that bolsters the material throughout, and sets up the duet in “Disbelief” that’s no less satisfying because one sees it coming. Backed by organ work in a show of eternal cool, “Disbelief” finds Dandy crooning in a way that reminds of softer John Garcia while Dawn answers in the verse lines, moving toward and through a memorable chorus that’s laid back in terms of tempo and understated compared to the semi-angular starts and stops of “Deaf and Dumb,” but all the more resonant melodically and purposeful not to go too far over the top as it crescendos with a guitar solo and keys behind.

Capping side A, “I Suppose” goes back to ground with a fuzzy strum at its outset, continuing to play with the balance between the dual vocals as it builds into a shuffle that would signal a shift in focus toward rhythm were it not for lushness of the vocals overtop. There’s style in the production, the deceptive depth of the mix — even just between lines at 2:11-2:15 into “I Suppose,” there’s more going on for those who’d dig deeper into the flourish — and the mellow vocal delivery, as well as substance in the songwriting and the crafted feel of the verses, the smoothness of their transitions from one part to the next throughout, and the thoughtfulness of the arrangements around Dandy and Dawn, and progression in the performances of both as compared to Palmyra three years ago with an accordingly more solidified idea of what The Fizz Fuzz‘s project is as a group and an idea. It gives more than it takes, stays casual in its accomplishments and is listenable in that way older Masters of Reality always seems to be timeless for being out of its own time.

The mix shifts on “Free for Sorry,” with Dawn forward in the duet, Dandy backing behind, and the introduction of drums is held back for more than a minute of the total 3:50 — not an insignificant amount of real estate, considering — with the effect of emphasizing the flow in the central riff. It’s a highlight performance from Dawn in answer to “Deaf and Dumb” earlier, and sways all the more fluidly with the ‘oooh’s backing her. “Craters,” meanwhile, taps a beefed-up Blind Melon vibe as the repeated line “time rolls on” is complemented by a groove that does much the same, snare drum punching through to punctuate a motion that’s not hurried but not staid, balanced just right for what it wants to be like so much of Deserts, Mountains, Oceans; pro-shop in sound and confident without arrogance, a work of artisans comfortable in their methods while pushing themselves forward. Placed ahead of the closer, “Mad Jimmy” comes across like it would work just as well as a fully unplugged folk song with its shared vocals and wistful guitar, but the full arrangement with drums and bass certainly doesn’t hurt.

It’s the shortest of the cuts at 3:43 (not by a ton) and leads into the longest, which is the 6:30 relative blowout of “Billion.” In genuinely classic fashion, The Fizz Fuzz offer a build into their version of a grand finale, tension mounting in the first two minutes before they reveal the catchy standout chorus and layer guitar lines with more decisively desert-rocking intent as they cycle through again en route to a victory lap reprise and ending around those guitars, residual melody fading as the record is brought to an appropriately classy conclusion, sweaty at the expulsion of energy but unruffled. They sound like they could keep going, like they have more to say, like they could just keep doing this forever, and maybe they will, but the achievement here in songwriting, in the varying arrangements and phrasings, in the richness of the total affect, isn’t to be understated. What Dawn Brown and Dandy Brown have built is an exercise in aural honesty. There’s no put-on happening here, nobody’s pretending to be anything they’re not, and the sincerity of expression throughout Deserts, Mountains, Oceans is palpable, drawing the listener closer to the songs and still, still, still poised and sympathetic in mood.

I’ll bottom line it: You like songs? The Fizz Fuzz‘ve got songs, and on Deserts, Mountains, Oceans they’re playing them just for you whether you hear them or not.

To that end, you’ll find the premiere of “Statues” below. Keep in mind that initial strum of guitar. The tone there is a clarion that extends across what follows on the record, and the groove that coincides likewise is a thread carried through the duration. I dig it. I think you’ll dig it too.

Under the player is copious PR wire info (still buckled?), but again, the release is March 14 digitally, with vinyl preorders opening the same day through Taxi Driver and Slush Fund. Beyond that, what you really need to know is in the audio, so please enjoy:

Dandy Brown on recording Deserts, Mountains, Oceans:

After releasing our first album, Palmyra, in 2020, we were set to embark on a series of tour dates throughout Europe and the United States, but, of course, those plans were interrupted by the pandemic. About a year and a half after we released the first album, we were finally able to do a couple of brief tours in Italy and the United States, but we spent most of the lockdown and ensuing travel restrictions water-shedding in our Northern California home writing the songs that would eventually end up appearing on Deserts, Mountains, Oceans.

While our first album was certainly a collaborative effort, most of the songs that appeared on our first collection were derived from parts and pieces each of us had constructed before we came together as a writing team, before we were husband and wife. Certainly, not many good things can be said about the years the world suffered through the virus, but for us it turned out to be an opportunity to explore our writing with a much more heightened sense of collaboration, which, of course, allowed us to push each other in new and exciting directions. Palmyra was a great achievement for us, but Deserts, Oceans, Mountains represents an evolution in both of our writing styles and a truer representation of the heart of where the Fizz Fuzz currently stands and the future directions we are heading.

We have been truly lucky to have such a great supporting cast with Steve Earle (Afghan Whigs) on drums and Gabriele Carta (ISAAK) on bass. They have not only enhanced the songs we have written for Deserts, Mountains, Oceans, but they contributed to the development of the songs on the album in unique and exciting ways. We were also tremendously excited to have Steve Earle contribute a song to the album and co-write another, adding an exciting dynamic to the material that has broadened the collection in a way that we are immensely grateful to share.

Thematically, Deserts, Mountains, Oceans represents our reflections upon some of the most traumatic episodes of our lives . . . messages of lost or damaged relationships, broken dreams and, unfortunately, the often merciless passage of time. We think, though, that within the representations of those darker themes each song has a way of commenting upon the ability to move past those unfortunate elements of life and to embrace the optimism that we all have the capacity to discover if we are willing to search for it. Essentially, while the title of the album reflects the physical geography where we have resided, the metaphors within those locations stand as testaments of the desolation that has impacted both of us, the climb to the place we are now, and the bliss we have found with and within each other.

THE FIZZ FUZZ – Deserts, Mountains, Oceans

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE AND VINYL PRE-ORDERS BEGIN: MARCH 14, 2023

Coming together for the first time in the high desert of southern California during the fall of 2017, the FIZZ FUZZ are a blues-rock band from Santa Rosa.

Dandy Brown is a producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work with the bands Hermano, Orquesta del Desierto, John Garcia, Alice Tambourine Lover, Yawning Sons, and his solo releases. In addition to covering guitar and vocal duties with the band, Dawn Brown is a multi-media artist currently engaged with photo experiments and commissioned pieces throughout northern California.

Their debut album, Palmyra, was released in the spring of 2020 and features performances by David Angstrom (Hermano/Luna Sol), Steve Earle (Afghan Whigs), Mike Callahan (Hermano/Earshot), Alice Albertazzi and Gianfranco Romanelli (Alice Tambourine Lover), and Mark Engel (Orquesta del Desierto).

The Fizz Fuzz sophomore release, Deserts, Mountains, Oceans, is slated for release on March 14, 2023. Recorded at Oxygen Studios (Verzuolo, IT) and the Slush Fund facilities in Athens, GA, the new collection features Steve Earle and Gabriele Carta, and guest performances by Mike Reeder, Keith Murphy, and Mark Engel. They will be performing in the UK to support the new album in March, 2023.

The Fizz Fuzz live:
March 14: the Victoria, Swindon
March 16: the Glass House, Ashford
March 17: Liquid Light Brew Company, Nottingham
March 18: Percy’s Cafe Bar, Whitchurch

The Fizz Fuzz on Instagram

Dandy Brown / The Fizz Fuzz website

Taxi Driver Records on Facebook

Taxi Driver Records on Bandcamp

Slush Fund Recordings store

Slush Fund Recordings website

The roots of The Fizz Fuzz are in the desert in terms of sound, but the collaboration of Dandy Brown and Dawn Brown (née Rich) stems of course from the fact that they’re married. One can hear in the lead single from their debut album, Palmyra, that the two-piece have a musical connection as well as the obvious interpersonal relationship. Dandy Brown is known for his work with John Garcia through various incarnations in Hermano and in the former Kyuss singer’s solo work — the track “Dark Horse II,” which appears on Palmyra, was recorded first by Garcia — but has never shied away from stepping up to the microphone himself, and joined in the endeavor by Dawn, the melodies only become that much richer. Likewise, their two guitars function together to bring a satisfying wash of fuzz to the Slush Fund Recordings/Taxi Driver Records release, lending elements of heavy post-rock to fluid pieces like “Collapse” and the mellower “Shame,” as well as a riffer like “Dear Old” and the penultimate “Loose Lips.”

As regards “Hereby,” it is arguably the most straightforward of the eight tracks on Palmyra, and one could debate how representative it therefore is overall of the larger work. Certainly by the time they get through “Collapse,” “Dark Horse II” and “Shame,” which appear in succession immediately following, the palette has broadened, and as they move toward the acoustic closer “Sunkissed,” The Fizz Fuzz only continue to push into different vibes, whether it’s the unabashed sweetness in the shimmering melody of “Conditional Love” or the more weighted tonal density of “Dear Old.” That said, one can hear Dawn‘s guitar playing off the central riff Dandy brings forth, and the catchiness of the hook is nothing if not a suitable introduction to the record as a whole, however more complex the proceedings might and do ultimately wind up.

The video is kind of a goof, but a fun one. They’re dancing with, of course, the kids as judges while the song plays. Parts of the clip would seem to come from a live performance video of “Hereby” Dandy and Dawn filmed and posted in April of last year. That’s obviously not the album version of the track — no drums, for one thing — but it’s another opportunity to hear how their guitars work together, and though “Hereby” doesn’t bring Dawn‘s vocals in nearly as much as, say, “Conditional Love,” on which she sings lead, there’s still plenty of the fuzz from which the project would seem to take its moniker and the spirit is nothing if not welcoming to the listener. They’re pretty much inviting you into their home. Wipe your feet before you go in, the place looks pretty nice.

Palmyra is out March 1 with preorders up now.

Video and more info follow. Please enjoy:

The Fizz Fuzz, “Hereby” official video premiere

Coming together for the first time in the high desert of southern California during the fall of 2017, the FIZZ FUZZ are a blues-rock band formed by Dandy and Dawn Brown.

Dandy Brown is a producer, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work with the bands Hermano, Orquesta del Desierto, John Garcia, Alice Tambourine Lover, Yawning Sons, and his solo releases. Dawn Brown is a multi-media artist, guitarist and vocalist widely recognized as a member of the new generation of groundbreaking visual artists in the northern California Bay Area.

Relocating to northern California in the winter of 2017, the Browns immediately began to write a new collection of songs that they debuted during their first European tour in the spring of the following year. Recording and performing throughout 2018 and 2019, the FIZZ FUZZ have a new album that is set for release on Taxi Driver Records (Europe) and Slush Fund Records (worldwide) on March 1, 2020.

Titled Palmyra, the FIZZ FUZZ album features performances by David Angstrom (Hermano/Luna Sol), Steve Earle (Afghan Whigs), Mike Callahan (Hermano/Earshot), Alice Albertazzi and Gianfranco Romanelli (Alice Tambourine Lover), and Mark Engel (Orquesta del Desierto).

The Fizz Fuzz, “Hereby” live promo video

Dandy Brown on Thee Facebooks

Dandy Brown website

Slush Fund Recordings website

Taxi Driver Records on Thee Facebooks

Taxi Driver Records website