Rob’s Album Of The Week: Fea’s No Novelties

Punk’s message at its core is all about individualism. Not conforming to what the herd is doing while refusing to be put down are important reasons why the music is bigger than the songs affiliated with it. San Antonio’s Fea embodies this while incorporating a Mexican flair into their sound. Their second full-length, No Novelties, that came out on November 15 via Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records flexes this attitude in unapologetic fashion. The energy that flows from each song is infectious and the listener is bound to get moving once the play button is pressed.

The band has a standard rock set up with Letty Martinez on vocals, Sofi Fea on guitar, Jenn Alva on bass and Phanie Diaz on drums. There’s a ton of rhythm being exhibited while also having a vintage pop quality. Think of those girl groups during the ’60s mixed with ’70s punk and that’s what you get with Fea. The tones coming from Alva’s bass and Fea’s guitar are striking while Diaz’s drumming has a good mix of downbeats and drum fills. Martinez’s delivery gives a dose of swagger that accents the music perfectly.

Even though most of the time I don’t understand what they’re singing about, I’m actually a pretty big fan of lyrics in a different language. It gives a variety to a song that might come off as bland if it was in English. For not being able to decipher the words, there are plenty…