The season is ripe for political discontent and a revolution. The Fun Guy’s latest album provides a pretty good soundtrack for such an occasion.

From the Attic to the Underground comes from the Lawrence trio, one of the scene’s newest up-and-coming acts spotted around town over the last year. Fronted by staggeringly tall Ranjit Arab (who is not Arab, but actually Indian and American), the band has been indulging us with a perfectly retro punk vibe (think The Clash). The album was recorded at Exception Studio in Topeka. Songs tackle everything from identity to politics to crimes against indigenous populations (when a seven-foot-tall brown man is yelling at you about stealing land from the indigenous, you need to listen), all against some speedy guitar riffs and beats that always get the crowd going. The band burst out the gate strong at the beginning of the year, and don’t seem to be slowing down.

We chatted with frontman Ranjit Arab about the new release.

 
IHLM: On “Lost and Found,” you proclaim “every city in the nation was built on a foundation of lies.” Tell us how you really feel, Ranjit?
RA: Yes! I’ll always tell you how I really feel. I’m terrible at hiding that. I want people to have fun when they see us, but also leave them with some deep topics like settler colonialism and how we Americans are just as guilty of terrorizing people (Native Americans) as what’s happening now with Palestinians. So, we have a lot of work to do–whether that’s reparations for Indigenous people or putting an immediate end to the genocide against Palestinians.

You can see The Fun Guy hit the Lucia stage for a somewhat album-release show on Thursday, June 13.