Puzzle’s “Damage Collection” offers listeners a fascinating experience, with eccentric lo-fi beats, ethereal synth and punky elements. The seventh release from Fletcher Shears’s solo project shows a raw approach to production compared to past releases.
Shears is the other half of the experimental punk duo, The Garden. While The Garden has always leaned into 80s hardcore punk with intriguing uses of sound — such as using bell whistles and cheap sound effects from old kid’s toys — the band has stayed in the realm of edginess. Puzzle is where Shears displays the levitating, grainy sounds of the band’s nature.
Puzzle’s “Damage Collection!” features 15 tracks spanning across a 35-minute and 11-second runtime.
The first track of the album, “Clash!,” provides the listener with familiarity through its catchy yet odd melodies. The track is reminiscent of Puzzle’s past sounds but with a lo-fi twist. The song begins with a soft piano tune, evocative of music from 90s anime soundtracks. While past projects have been more polished, this one feels a little rough around the edges but maintains a sense of familiarity and direction.
“Slobber of the Dog” and “Run From The Good Things” stand out with their fearless experimentation. “Slobber of the Dog” gives a taste of ambient noise then quickly transitions into a punk beat followed by a mix of the two. The use of sampling in “Run From The Good Things” gives a nice segue into the jazzy rhythm that follows.
Although these songs help give the album its own identity, the album ultimately falls short in being something making the album memorable. In the other 30 minutes of material that Shears brought to the table, repetition quickly gives way to boredom. This is not to say that the material is bad, but that it is lackluster and leaves something to be desired.
Previous Puzzle projects have done a better job of rounding out their respective albums; this album, while good, falls short of the previous releases.
