3 out of 5

Label: self-released

Produced by: Shane Hochstetler

For their two 2025 EPs, Night Vision Creeps and Paws in the Bacon Grease, ifihadahifi seemingly split “one” recording session – quoted because it extended through 2024 and 2025 – into separate five song releases. Whether that was the initial intention or not, you can appreciate the divide: the EPs are definitely Hifi, and absolutely thematically linked, but provide very different approaches / moods. Whereas Paws channeled 2020s political and social concerns into chaotic rockers, NVC’s tracks elicit a sense of resignation.

Opener ‘You’re a Mess’ calls back to the noise of earliest HiFi, but beyond this anthem (and its great callout line “Do you wanna save the world / Or do you just want the credit”), the songs retreat somewhat to the poppier style of Fame By Proxy, smartened up from the wisdom of further years of absorbing pop culture – i.e. smooth out some of the snark of youth and allow in an appreciation for a casual, catchy tune and you get the comforting melody of Zirconia Man. This might sound like I’m deriding the music, but ultimately I just think isolating a handful of tracks that operate in this mood / mode makes it lack some punch; these are all solid songs with smart lyrics, I suppose I just think the resigned sigh that’s wound throughout would feel more impactful with additional ‘You’re a Mess’es scattered throughout. At the same time, had this been combined with Paws, maybe that EP wouldn’t have hit as hard.

Either way, I’m glad the group provided us with a full album worth of new tunes, and I encourage the willingness to explore these moods and modes if it keeps the creativity flowing.