Bio
Members of The Holy Mess, Captain We’re Sinking, Teen Agers and Seagulls
On their second full-length Pest Sounds, Philadelphia’s Five Hundred Bucks have written a set of maximalist punk rock songs that buzz like a metal detector in a crowded mine-field while never shying away from classic pop structures and affecting storytelling. This is the sound of a new and exciting band stumbling onto their masterwork.
Going back a few years, Jeff Riddle (formerly of The Holy Mess) got together with his old friend, drummer William Francis Orender (Captain, We’re Sinking), to fulfill an assignment of writing the soundtrack for the hit indie horror flick Uncle Peckerhead, written and directed by Riddle’s friend and close collaborator, Matthew John Lawrence. The band made a name for themselves on their 2022 debut $500, as well as with the success of Uncle Peckerhead, but have dug even deeper into their modus operandi of following wherever their muse leads them on this new batch of songs.
Though the album stands out on its own as an artistic achievement for the band, it also continues Riddle’s ongoing collaboration with Lawrence as three of its songs were used to soundtrack his brand new Shudder/AMC film Bloody Axe Wound, which made its theatrical debut this past winter.
With the film bound to give Riddle and the band new exposure, Five Hundred Bucks have delivered an album too full of life to be denied. It’s a wall-to-wall tour de force of punk spirit that is nothing short of an infestation of earworms. Pest Sounds, indeed.
– Pat King
