LP - Bug Club - On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System

1LP - LOSER indie version on coloured vinyl

The first Sub Pop album by the wonderful Welsh trio The Bug Club is filled with thrillingly witty and energetic catchy punk.

The way you're saying it, "prolific" isn't the right word for The Bug Club. You've got to say it with the trademark Welsh lilt and pay due homage to this inimitable band's origins in the renowned hit factory of Caldicot, South Wales. Do that, and you're about right with how to summarize a group who've released ten singles, two albums, two EPs, three things nobody knew how to describe, and an album under a different band's name, all since 2021, and while playing 200+ gigs a year.

Their third LP "On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System" sees the band serve up a beefy slab of their speciality Modern-Lovers-meets-"Nuggets" garage rock. There's B-52's call-and-response fun mixed with AC/DC power chord grunt. Leaning towards fast-paced punk, opening double salvo "War Movies" and "Quality Pints" sets out the stall: duel vocal piss-taking, surreal takes on everyday topics that go full circle and become profound, riffs all day long and then all the next day too.