Puddy – Sweetspot (2023 Remaster)
Puddy are an indie/stoner/hard rock band from Toronto, Canada. The band formed in the early nineties and this record originally came out in early 2000, I believe. I remember receiving the original CD in the mid 2000’s from All That’s Heavy distribution as a free gift for buying a bunch of merchandise. I was a fan instantly! Puddy have a 90’s Kyuss/Queens Of The Stone Age and dare I say, grungy-esc sound to them with heavy and catchy melodies. The music sounds very modern and should have been huge back in the day (in my opinion.) The lineup is: Paolo Rizzo (songwriter, guitar, lead vocal), J.V.Bonhomme (guitar), Tim Reesor (bass) and Eric Cohen (drums.)
Puddy remastered their classic record Sweetspot in 2023 from 2” tape to vinyl (totally analog.) The record cut out four tracks from the original and now features a lean nine songs. The record sounds fantastic and the songs all hold up nicely, twenty plus years later.
Lead off track “I Gave You My Love, You Gave Me The Clap” crushes out of the gate and displays the band’s hard driving and modern sounding rock. The fuzzy guitar riffs and excellent vocals are where it’s at. “Was It Nothing” is next and has a nice swagger to it with the rhythm. The straight forward approach to the song is catchy and the chorus is great. They incorporate a reggae type of vibe to the middle part with cool congo percussion too. The third song “Jaded” is a banger! Straight ahead rocking and grooving with pure delight. The whole song rips! “Derek’s Song” is next and is the first of two instrumental songs on the record. It’s got a great flow and a swirly vibe to it with excellent guitar riffing and leads. “Did You Drop Something” starts with guitar and leads into another riff machine throughout. They incorporate more cool drum tom enhancements also. The second instrumental “The Tale Of The Sleepy Air Traffic Controller “ plays next and goes from heavy, head banging riffing, to subtle and grooving break downs. “Silicones” is another rocker with nice guitar licks and entertaining lyrics.
The oddly titled “J Vs. The Dumptruck” has a more aggressive vocal approach to the verses courtesy of Rizzo. The song has a hard edge about it and a nice noisy guitar lead in the middle with a slower riff, and then kicking back into overdrive again. The last song on the record is the reggae rock anthem “Potsie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” It’s more laidback with a grooving bass line and tribal percussion throughout. The guitars are feeding the song with a Caribbean vibe and it plays out nicely.
It’s wonderful to see a resurgence of this record being remastered and released on vinyl. Puddy are back after a thirteen year hiatus and are finishing up their new record. They have a certain quality in their songwriting that you don’t hear too often. They also recently re-released the Drive EP and the grossly underrated record Endustry (formerly using the Red Elite moniker) to the masses. Puddy are certainly back and I hope to be able to see them play live in the future. Check out this band, you won’t be disappointed!
https://puddyrock.bandcamp.com
