The Fun Years
Heroes of the Second Story Walk-Up [LP; Spring Break ]

The packaging alone for the latest from The Fun Years is a sight to behold. Its cover shimmers in the daylight of spring, busting through the large living room window. It’s metallic art piece (an edition of 20, though 3 other sets in a similar edition size were included in the first 80 copies) a light, but industrial reminder that the sun isn’t all that is glorious. The album’s opening salvo burns with the same intensity; light bouncing off reflective surfaces and focusing heavily on a patch of carpet or a piece of upholstry to warm up the air. It crackles as its crescendo rises….into silence. And then a chugging guitar enters. Heroes of the Second Story Walk-Up feels like an artifact of lost (or nearly forgotten) spring. The feeling of the sun breaking the monotony of winter in our youth; a blunt metaphor that even the most dim of us could revel in, even if it was a fleeting moment. Though the gnarly drone and repetitive guitar are likely not similar to the three chords of rock, pop, and bubblegum many of us grew with (or through) in halcyon times, it is familiar enough to rekindle that love of turning on the stereo, turning off the TV, opening the windows to the spring chill, and letting loose on a guitar or settling on the floor for pass at seasonal meditation. Heroes… is a wry smile and warm heart, tuning into the static of fuzzy memories without daring to cash in on the phenomenon. And it’s likely the non-nostalgia it causes may just be singular to my ears. But that’s the point: The Fun Years tap into a emotional response that is often more direct. The tease isn’t blunt, and it’s not meant to conjure up a particular moment, but rather a feeling. It’s one I never want to leave, but I also know that at some point I must pick up the needle, place the record back in the sleeve, and live in this moment. But when it allows me to combine my happiness in the now with my content from then, Heroes… truly does make Ben Recht and Isaac Sparks my heroes.

Cerberus

Cerberus seeks to document the spate of home recorders and backyard labels pressing limited-run LPs, 7-inches, cassettes, and objet d’art with unique packaging and unknown sound. We love everything about the overlooked or unappreciated. If you feel you fit such a category, email us here.

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