L.A. surf-punks Fidlar are back with two new singles, “Fix Me” and “Get Off My Wave,” from their upcoming first album in five years, Surviving the Dream, out Sept. 20.
Lead single “Fix Me” is a blast of raw vulnerability that puts all the emotional cards on the table, while “Get Off My Wave” is a smirking, brash track about selfishness, self-awareness, and self-destruction. “We picked these two songs to lead off the record because it represents the energy we pull off live,” Fidlar frontman Zac Carper said in a statement. “It’s all about the sad moshpit.”
“Fix Me” arrives with a music video starring actress Sosie Bacon, who delivers an all-out performance of the song in a tiny karaoke room all alone. Carper said having Bacon agree to be in the clip was “awesome,” adding, “We did karaoke with her on her birthday, and she killed it. When we came up with the idea, she was the only choice. She’s perfect.”
Surviving the Dream will be Fidlar’s fourth album and first since 2019’s Almost Free. Self-recorded and produced at Balboa Recording Studio in East Los Angeles, the album finds Fidlar returning to their DIY roots, channeling the energy of some recent live shows, and grappling with that most inevitable quality of life — getting older and changing. The album was partly informed, too, by Carper’s recent bipolar disorder diagnosis, which helped him make sense of some of his past actions and feelings, both when it came to life and music.
The lengthy gap between Almost Free and Surviving the Dream was, in part, the result of a planned hiatus, which ended up being prolonged because of the pandemic. But Fidlar began to come back at the end of 2022, dropping the first of a series of short EPs and singles, which they continued to release throughout 2023. (One of those tracks, “Nudge,” will appear on Surviving the Dream.)
“This record is about doubling down on what you love,” Carper said of the new LP. “For us, it’s about playing shows and making music. Coming back after a few years away, our intention was to self-make an album that the 3 of us are stoked on. We’re very very very pumped on it and what’s to come.”
Fidlar will also hit the road this fall on a North American tour in support of Surviving the Dream. The run kicks off Sept. 23 at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz and wraps Oct. 31 with a Halloween hometown show at the Bellwether in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale June 14 at 10 a.m. local time via the band’s website.
Fidlar 2024 Tour Dates
September 23 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
September 24 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
September 25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
September 27 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
September 28 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
September 30 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Grand At The Complex
October 1 – Denver, CO @ Summit
October 2 – Fort Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre
October 4 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
October 5 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
October 7 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
October 8 – Buffalo, NY @ Electric City
October 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
October 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
October 12 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
October 14 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
October 15 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
October 16 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East
October 18 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
October 19 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
October 21 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
October 22 – Austin, TX @The Mohawk
October 25 – Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress Plaza
October 27 – Del Mar, CA @ The Sound At Del Mar
October 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether