With Seattle, Los Angeles and Las Vegas in his wake, alternative rock/metal axeman Kendall Fudge now takes a swing in the South with his solo debut, Narcissist, now in area circulation a few years after its initial release.
Musically, Narcissist holds up to any turn-of-the-century, alt-rock-fueled, high school kid’s personal mix CD, proudly filled with early cuts from Primus, Butthole Surfers, Alice in Chains, Tool and Stone Temple Pilots. Fudge’s auto-pilot vocal style, while suggesting a droning Layne Staley or playful Les Claypool, is almost always buried under echo and megaphone-type effects.
The themes of Fudge’s tracks document a scattered “wayward man’s destiny,” peppered with clever bursts of Fudgey logic and dark anecdotes mostly motivated by deteriorated relationships.
As an axeman, Fudge nods to the previously mentioned influences’ respective sounds by layering individual guitars from his collection (including bass, when not played by Bob Baker) during production, to form each song’s rhythm and borrowed identity, sprinkled with melody and accent riffs that display evidence of Fudge’s still-emerging personal style. No bona fide guitar solo appears until the end of the second song, and similar instrumental forays are brief and seldom heard throughout Narcissist. The guitar work does, however, include some pretty busy finger-picking on “Possum Hollow” and the rousing “Ashley’s Song.”
Detours from Narcissist’s general “going away” theme include solid yet comedic paternal advice in the long-winded, two-chord strummer “Livin This Way,” while an anti-capitalist, pro-Earth and somewhat libertarian message fuels “Sell a Friend,” a track in the vein of Stone Temple Pilots.
There is no conceivable reason as to why the final track, “Summer,” exists, but that’s an accomplishment in itself, once considered. From a distance, it sounds like two industrial factories fighting.
As a whole, Kendall Fudge’s Narcissist is a DIY pet project about learning from experience, letting go and moving on, all within 11 original tracks. It captures a genuine, mix-tape craftsmanship, primarily exhumed from the backs of closets these days, even though Fudge created the music himself. It’s understandable how such a concept could lead a modest man to title his expressions Narcissist, which is really just comprised of a couple of things on a rambling man’s mind, and that’s not hurting anyone. Perhaps Fudge is referring to his dictionary’s secondary definition: “joker,” rather than “ego tripper.”
Find more on Kendall Fudge at reverbnation.com/kendallfudge, soundcloud.com/kendallfudge and youtube.com/kendallfudge. For area musicians interested in working with Kendall Fudge in upcoming Southeastern U.S.-area projects, using both material from Narcissist as well as new work, Murfreesboro guitarist Jonathan Perriotti is currently reviewing candidates; contact him at dethmega2150@gmail.com.
