The Bug Club
Very Human Features
SUB POP
As a denizen of The Bug Club’s home nation of Wales, I was beyond charmed by the band’s standalone precursor single to Very Human Features, titled “Have U Ever Been 2 Wales.” Hearing a Sub Pop–signed band shout out small Welsh towns like Treorchy and their home of Caldicot is gently patriotic music to the ears of any music-loving Welshman. Headed by mononymous songwriters Sam and Tilly, the duo serves as singularly delightful cultural ambassadors for our small nation, espousing an upbeat and quirky vision that’s scored them a deal with their esteemed American label, as well as endless support from just about every indie-music-supporting outlet and radio station in Britain, North America, and Western Europe.
Following an annual run of consistently fun albums—highlighted by 2023’s 47-track surrealist epic Rare Birds: Hour of Song—The Bug Club are now releasing their second effort since signing with Sub Pop. Another rough-and-ready collection of relentlessly charming and eccentric garage rock to match the project’s preceding single, the 13 tracks on Very Human Features double down on the band’s signature upbeat rock, stylized-raw production, and unusual but often surprising lyrics.
The Bug Club and their bouncy, major-key bangers slot into the lineage of acts that essentially have one basic composition, tweaking the tempo and other details as something more nuanced begins to bubble under the surface. “Blame Me” is an especially soulful track, full of scorching lead guitars and a tone that almost approaches melancholy. “Muck” is a strange, delicate acoustic number with existential lyrics about growing old. There’s the seemingly straightforward “Dear Reader,” whose two-chord verses and catchy chorus contains lyrics about “a world on fire,” while lines on “Jealous Boy” manage to capture something about the paradoxical and very-human complexities of nonsensical jealousy.
This is The Bug Club’s great triumph. Amid all the charm and whimsy, achingly human truths are unearthed. While Sam and Tilly are far too playful to ever approach beating you over the head with their observations, if you choose to peer deeply into the colorful delights of Very Human Features, there are moments that will gently sweep you off your feet, like a sudden rip current beneath a deceptively pretty seascape.
