Bug Swallow Bug Swallow cassette
What began as a somewhat fresh take on punk has become just another ingredient on the menu. I have started to notice a pattern recently where egg-punk is treated less like a genre and more as a component in a fusion dining experiment gone wrong. This is certainly the first time I have encountered the combination of egg-punk and cowpunk. What does that equate to, farm-fresh punk? It is an odd flavor profile, that’s for sure. Perhaps stranger still is that BUG SWALLOW seems to be a Muppets-themed band, with a particular focus on Kermit the Frog. This Calgary outfit has all the expected egg-punk ingredients of guitars, bass, synth, and drum machine, but the addition of twangy banjo and harmonica pulls things into bluegrass/jug-band territory. Eight confusing songs make up this self-titled debut cassette. To the band’s credit, there are moments where the recipe comes together—whenever BUG SWALLOW eases off the novelty, the songs become considerably more palatable. Unfortunately, they lose me whenever they lean too heavily into the gimmick, particularly on the banjo-heavy, “swing your partner ’round and ’round” hoedown entitled “Way Back Here.” I absolutely understand that egg-punk is a silly genre and should not be taken too seriously, but I guess when it comes to egg, I prefer it as the main course, not as a novelty side dish scooped up at the buffet line.