Listening to “what kind of mania” by suffer fools is a bit like catching an enigmatic music video on a mysterious TV station before everything went digital and you’re getting an elusive wave of music that keeps bringing you back even though maybe the reception is snowy and there is some distortion in the reception. In a more modern era it’s like a moody post-punk song but which eschews high fidelity and makes you work for it just a little with few concessions to commercial music considerations beyond the ear worm of a melody and an undeniably powerful mood evoking melancholic feelings of disappointment, conflicted romantic feelings and obsession. The way Times New Viking did its own unique take on punk and lo-fi rock, suffer fools tones down expected notions of sonic fidelity and embraces what some might perceive as production shortcomings. Singer Debbie Debased establishes a concept here that has the hallmarks of the artist’s purported background as a former child star who knows the perils of having one’s life too exposed and on display and the importance of an ever more elusive quality of mystique. In a hyperconnected world where it’s relatively easy to dissect someone’s life and their art and miss the point of what makes creative work compelling by overly focusing on personality and visual aesthetic this song invites the listener in to world of deeply personal heartache as a shared experience through music. Listen to “what kind of mania” on YouTube and follow suffer fools at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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