At the center of everything is Steev Custer, who wrote all eleven songs and plays acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, and carries the vocals throughout. Custer is the kind of songwriter who trusts his own instincts, and these songs don't feel labored over or second-guessed; they feel lived in. His voice has the same quality: not polished for its own sake, but expressive in a way that makes you believe every word. Eric Legner's bass playing is the backbone of the record, steady and purposeful, locking in with Matt George's drumming to form a rhythm section that gives the whole thing its pulse. Tom Spielman handles lead guitar with real intelligence as he knows when to step forward and when to hold back, and that instinct is what separates a good guitarist from a great one. Then there's Kevin Gawthorpe on saxophone, whose contributions could easily have felt like decoration but instead feel like a natural extension of the band's voice, adding texture and warmth exactly where the songs need it.
Side A opens with "Punk Rock Changed My Life," A song with that title could go one of two ways. It could feel like a bumper sticker, or it could feel like something true. This one feels true. It sets the tone immediately, a record that wears its influences without hiding them, made by people for whom punk wasn't a phase but a genuine shift in how they saw the world. The energy is immediate, and the sentiment is earned. "One For The L's" keeps the momentum going with a knowing nod to failure and perseverance, the kind of song that resonates with anyone who's kept going long after the odds stopped being favorable. "It's Already Done" shifts the mood, carrying a weight that feels more reflective, and gives Custer's voice more space. You realize that he can actually sing, but not in a showy way, in a convincing way, which is better, and it showcases how gifted he really is. Then "Steady Diet of Fire" brings the heat back and makes me reach over and turn it up. Spielman's lead guitar work here is sharp and purposeful, cutting through the mix without showing off, a reminder of just how well he knows his craft.
"I Did Everything The Hard Way" might be the most SMFC song on the record, if such a thing can be said about a debut. Stubborn, self-aware, and oddly triumphant, it has a cheerful refusal to feel sorry for itself that sticks with you long after it's done. George and Legner are at their tightest here, driving the song forward with a momentum that feels effortless. Side A closes with "Both Wings of the Bird," a track that hints at more complexity than the opening songs let on, with Custer's mandolin adding a color you didn't know you were missing until it arrived. Side B doesn't disappoint. "Church and McCormick" opens with a sense of place and identity that anchors the record geographically and emotionally. This is music rooted in a specific experience, and Custer's songwriting is specific enough to feel real without being so insular that it excludes the listener.
"More Than Fine" is the album's most generous moment. Josh Caterer guests on vocals, and the pairing with Custer is genuinely exciting as these two distinct voices find a common ground that makes the song bigger than either could have managed alone. Gawthorpe's saxophone is front and center here, too, and it's the performance that best illustrates what he brings to this band. It's not embellishment. It's essential. "Paychecks and Packmules" follows with the blunt directness that good working-class rock tends to have, Legner's bass particularly prominent in the mix, grounding everything with quiet authority. "Not Who I Want To Be" carries an honest restlessness that sits well in the sequence, a moment of self-reckoning that avoids melodrama. Then the album closes with "Little Fires," and it's exactly the right call. Small in scale but not in feeling, it sends Unadulterated out on a quiet, smoldering note that lingers after the needle lifts. Custer's acoustic guitar and voice, stripped back, do exactly enough.
What holds all of this together is the consistency of the songwriting and the trust these musicians place in each other. Custer is the master behind the lyricism, but this record sounds like a band of five people who have figured out how to make something together that none of them could make alone. In a landscape that often rewards calculation, it's something genuinely refreshing about a group like this that is committed to just being themselves.
Start off by giving the track Little Fires a spin now and give it time to grow on you:
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