The summer months are right around the corner and as temperatures continue to rise in tandem with stress and tension from the current political and economic climate, a good old pissed off punk record is more than welcome. Fortunately for all of us living in the current hellscape of 2025, Orange County’s GUNN have dropped a giant middle finger of a debut.
GUNN’s self-titled first record (appropriately released on 4/20) is sun-soaked and filled to the brim with defiant, snotty nihilism. GUNN seems to be mainly concerned with two things: partying and telling anyone who doesn’t want them to party to fuck off. It’s a burst of pissed off youthful energy that calls back to bands like GANG GREEN and JERRY’S KIDS, while being described by the band themselves as “FUs meet SUBLIME.”
GUNN’s formula of beefy riffs, a breakneck rhythm section, and pissed off vocals that carry the slightest California drawl are expertly woven together with skits sprinkled throughout the album (hence the SUBLIME comparison), including various news clips decrying such reckless behaviors as beer-guzzling and vandalism. There are also two hilarious voicemails included, one telling the band how much they suck and one offering to help them build their “image” from a marketing standpoint. It all adds a wry sense of humor that breaks up the sheer aggression on display, giving the album depth that similar sounding bands can sometimes lack.
Opening track “Annihilation” kicks things off with a lo-fi corporal march before blasting through the speaker like the Powell/Peralta Skeleton, showcasing an energy that persists throughout the 14 tracks here. While the band maintains a pretty consistent formula, cool touches like the whammy bar beginning of “Out of Order” and the spoken word vocals on the latter half of “No Tomorrow” keep things feeling fresh. Other standouts like “Breakout” leans into a surfy vibe (including what sounds like a synth that sounds like a theremin towards the end) while closer “Circles” perfectly channels early BLACK FLAG before blowing out into a five minute dub track, an unexpected but welcome ender that makes me wonder what a GUNN dub record would sound like (GUNN, if you’re reading this, please make a dub record).
If you’re worried about impending summertime blues, GUNN’s debut should snap you right out of it. And hey, if we really are hurtling towards WWIII, we may as well have some fun along the way.
Pickup a copy of “Gunn” via Going Underground Records, available now.
