The Human Fund just released a full-length album and it's absolutely blistering with an endlessly fun and high-octane classic rock fuzztone that breeds a refreshing and familiar cross of punk rock and hard rock with tons of character and just the right attitude.
The self-titled album comes in swinging and doesn't let up for a second as it continues its heavily driving bangers through all the styles they can muster, and they do it with such style and a kind of gracefulness. Even the punk rock songs are super catchy and feel like classics you've been listening to in the radio for years.
This band has a unique feel to them all around. It's like everything was recorded live on the floor because it really seems like everyone in the ban are just feeding of each other's energies the whole time which really give this record and added edginess that kids a lot of ass.
And this in turn, makes you kind of really want to see them live just because you know they will absolutely melt your face in that setting. To be able to capture that high octane fire on record like this is pretty rare to be honest.
You can feel this stuff down to your bones and blood. It begins to drive you and quickly becomes this thing that you start to crave when it's not around.
This album clearly showcases the bands pure love for the craft and with the release of it, we wanted to have a chat with The Human Fund to find out where this all came from and what may be next for them.
Here's what went down.
Buzz Slayers: "Let's kick things off with the self-titled album. This record has a great edgy thrash punk feel to it. Where did this album come from?"
This album is the culmination of the majority of the songs we've written together and played at our shows since we started the band. Some of them we've even played live before we had settled on a name! It basically sets the listener up for what to expect when they come to see The Human Fund; sonically, thematically, spiritually, this is us, this is what we do.
Buzz Slayers: "When did this all start for you guys?"
So we met in late 2015 when two of our bands played a show together, and we linked up to form what would become The Human Fund in late 2019. Dave put out a call for people to put together a set for a Halloween show. Zach had never been in another band aside from the one he was in at the time, and enthusiastically jumped on the opportunity to play after Dave approached him. We ended up doing a cover set as the White Stripes, and after a few practices, we found that we had some real good chemistry. We decided to make it a regular band, doing a couple shows before landing on the name, "The Human Fund."
Buzz Slayers: "What inspires you to write a song?"
Like so many other punk bands, it's usually something getting on our nerves. Some songs are more inspired by personal struggles, but many come from the world at large. For example, powerful people using money and influence to make the world a worse place; that sort of thing. As much as we've got songs about the ills of capitalism and the police state, though, we've also got songs about people uniting live together in beautiful, diverse glory. So, some songs are about the world as it is, and some songs about the world as we'd like it to be!
Buzz Slayers: "This album has some great styles! Can you give us some of your top musical influences?"
Thank you! Both of us came up on a variety of loud, fast, angry shit your dad listens to: you got your Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, Black Flag, Minor Threat. We work a lotta old-school stuff into the stuff we write. We also both bond over the garage rock revival stuff from the 2000s and 2010s: White Stripes and Bass Drum of Death, and Ty Segall are some big ones, but really anything fuzzy, reverbed-out and kinda primal will do ya.
Buzz Slayers: "What are you all doing when you're NOT working on music?"
Zach: So I'm in a bunch of bands outside of this one, so usually if I'm not working on music I'm working on OTHER music, but even then I have my hands in a lotta other pockets! I'm a stage actor, I'm a visual artist, for money I work at a solar company, and for fun, EVERY NOW AND THEN, I will play a videogame, very casually. Usually Grand Theft Auto, or a game similar to Grand Theft Auto.
Dave: Like Zach, I have other music ventures, mostly it's me doing solo work under my full name, David Taylor Coffey. Most of my creative musical energy is still dedicated to The Human Fund, though. Music is actually my day job too, I teach guitar and other instruments as well as music theory and history one-on-one; I absolutely love it. When I'm not actually making or playing music, I do a lot of booking and event organizing in the music scene. Sometimes Zach will approach me to act in something he's putting together. You can also frequently find me reading comic books or some obscure piece of history or political theory. I've been keeping busy with woodworking and doing a lot of hands-on work on my guitars, I've got a few "in the shop" right now.
Buzz Slayers: "Who's in all your headphones right now?"
Zach: For me, it is the Delco MFs EP, the Innuendo demo (saw them in Virginia and Mark Winter was drumming for them, I dunno if it's his band full-time, but he sure was there!!!), the Illiterates LP, and of course, Electric Chair's blistering 2021 EP "Social Capital."
Dave: I just saw The Menzingers for the 10 year anniversary of their album, "On The Impossible Past" so that's been in frequent rotation. I've been bopping The Replacements a lot too, I'm a sucker for dad rock, (at least I consider it "dad rock" because my dad is the one that introduced me to them) it's mostly been their albums, "Let it Be" and "Pleased to Meet Me." I've been digging some newer bands too, like Meth Wax, Orange Culture, and Ed Schrader's Music Beat.
Buzz Slayers: "Are you guys doing any live performances right now?"
And how! We've got a good few shows lined up in CT for this month and the next couple, we're working on booking a New England weekender for March, and we're also planning for a three-week US tour in the summer!