The Condo Fucks: Fuckbook
The Condo Fucks are really hard to Google. At first I was excited. They sounded a lot like my old band, the late, great Screen Test—active from 2004-2007, 2 EPs, 6 Middle East shows, and at least two fans who weren’t our friends. But I digress. I thought I was on to something, that I had uncovered some hidden Matador gem. Not quite.
Hailed by Matador as a recorded rehearsal by the “legendary New London, CT trio,” Fuckbook is actually a companion album to Yo la Tengo’s 1990 (more or less) cover album, Fakebook. The Condo Fucks are none other than Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew of Yo la Tengo, disguised as Kid Condo, Georgia Condo and James McNew. “Many years ago,” Matador continues, “in a town called New London, in Connecticut, one band reigned supreme.” Unfortunately, all of the Condo Fucks early material is out of print and unavailable for review. That’s fine, Matador. Touché.
In contrast to Yo la Tengo’s trademark mellow and well-produced pop sound, Fuckbook is a harsh garage/punk recording of fast-paced covers mixed as if a single microphone were thrown in the middle of the room. The vocals are almost unintelligible amid the drums and guitar, and the album is over just around the time you’ve started liking it, clocking in at just over thirty minutes. If I didn’t know this was an album entirely of covers—which I didn’t at first (you wouldn’t have, either)—my first impression was that if you mixed together some lo-fi early Pavement with some Guided by Voices, Television, and certain aspects from certain eras of Sonic Youth, you might get something close to the indie/surf/jangly fast and frantic blues of this legendary trio. Interestingly enough, all of the artists covered on Fuckbook predate most of these bands. The Troggs, the Kinks, Small Faces. The list of artists covered reads like a list of, not necessarily direct Yo la Tengo influences, but perhaps favorites from their record collection. Either way, fair enough.
The first track sets the pace quite nicely. “Whatcha Gonna Do About it” from the Small Faces’ 1966 eponymous album is fast, catchy and deceptively simple. There’s “So Easy Baby” by a band called Zantee (even harder to Google) with an intro guitar line and a hook that will get stuck in your head for hours
“Shut Down” and “Shut Down Part 2” from the Beach Boys’ Surfin’ USA are arguably the strongest tracks on the album. It’s not easy to do retro surf rock and make it sound authentic. The Condo Fucks nail it with guitars, vocals, and production value that sound just about right.
Fuckbook is ultimately a fun departure from Yo la Tengo’s day-to-day. The songs are tight. The joke is funny. Is it an essential piece of their catalogue? Probably not. But then again, this is not Yo la Tengo, it’s the Condo Fucks. I hope their early stuff surfaces soon.