Los Angeles-based indie-pop artist Fuller has released his debut EP Crush Me merging the artist’s love of post-punk revival, alternative pop, and indie rock. The anticipated EP features a cluster of singles released by Fuller this year reflecting on love, loss, and the condition of the modern millennial.

The EP kicks off with Fuller’s breakout success “Favorite Poison” which achieved close to half a million streams on Spotify. “Favorite Poison” drives uptempo rhythm with gritty overdriven bass and guitar, crafting a punchy feel for Fuller to express his infectiously catchy lyricism and melody. On “Favorite Poison”, Fuller reflects on personal choices in his dating life leading him heedlessly towards a toxic relationship. 

We then reach the title track of the EP, “Crush Me”. The single feels to be a high point of this project speaking on Fuller's pursuit of a life veering away from the traditional career. Fuller, aka J.P. Welsh, narrowly avoided a career in law before finding his feet striving towards his passion for music. "Crush Me" is slickly produced presenting punkish electric guitar together with a thumping danceable beat full of charm and energy.

About the song, Welsh states:

“‘Crush Me’ is a song about running headfirst into life. It’s about not fearing failure, because never trying would be the biggest failure of all. Live your life. Have fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously, ya know?”

On the following track, “Sink or Swim”, we hear Fuller channel heartache into a dynamic and diverse pop-punk inspired record. The song is introduced with vocoder-esque vocals before quickly erupting into Fuller’s signature alternative indie-pop sound. “Sink or Swim” is the only track not previously released by the artist sitting well in between Fuller’s four singles. Like many of Fuller’s tracks, the lyricism is simply stated yet tremendously catchy producing a youthful singalong mood to the already groovy and melodic instrumental. 

On the latter half of the EP, we come to “Yr So Retro”, one of the more hard-hitting tracks on the play. “Yr So Retro” exhibits a large sound boasting distorted guitar riffs, floating synths, carefully constructed percussion, and strong leads. The song carries sizeable energy well capturing the feeling of infatuation through a marriage of punk-rock and indie music. 

Fuller certainly wears his musical influences on his sleeve with Crush Me exploring the genres of post-punk, pop and indie rock sounding somewhere between Kaiser Chiefs and The Vaccines. The final track of the project “Change My Mind” sees Welsh tackle a more synth-pop style bringing an uplifting close to the EP. 

Crush Me is a promising debut from the LA artist achieving a polished alternative pop sound that has already proven to attract a substantial audience of listeners. Lyrically, it is not anything that we haven't heard before but well captures the feelings of dramatic change whether that be in love, career or attitude. Crush Me is well crafted and infectious highlighting a great debut from the versatile indie-rocker. 

Check out Crush Me by clicking below!