Buddy Wynkoop

In their new head-banging single, “Stress Fracture,” Buddy Wynkoop, the four-piece punk group from Portland, Oregon, combines surf-rock elements and smashes them together with art punk rock with lyrics like: “I feel the weight / I feel the pressure / I hear the crash / Stress fracture / Excuse me mister / I got more problems / Than I know what to do with.”

In today’s day and age, a song like “Stress Fracture” is more prevalent than ever. Even if the band’s message doesn’t always align with our own, the single is relatable to most of our lives as we constantly live in a time of uncertainty: “I’ve become a little bit unhinged / I’m losing the will to pretend / I don’t know where it starts or it ends.”

Sounding like they have drawn inspiration from bands like IDLES and Amyl and The Sniffers, the track is pretty close to what could be considered a pretty standard punk track: fast, loud, and breaking away from the mainstream mold. These words don’t come from someone extremely well-versed in punk music but as someone who appreciates the fuzzy, rapid, and shouting soundscape that Buddy Wynkoop has released.

As a band that formed during a period of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, stress themes are bound to blend into the band’s creative direction: “I’m the blade / I’m the lever / I’m the head / That God severed.”