Mucho Mistrust

Welcome back to Finetuned! Chill vibes last week, well, this is the exact opposite! This week is all about Fake Fruit! Trust me on this, this is a raw listen but so fun.

Who Are Fake Fruit

Fake Fruit is a dynamic post-punk band based in Oakland, California, led by vocalist and songwriter Hannah “Ham” D’Amato. The group also features guitarist Alex Post and drummer Miles MacDiarmid, with a rotating lineup of bassists. Their music is characterized by sharp, nervy guitar work, biting humor, and a blend of punk energy with art-rock sensibilities.

At its core (pun FULLY intended), Fake Fruit is about confrontation, both with the audience and with the social structures we often take for granted. Their music doesn’t offer easy answers or wrap complexity in polish. Instead, they tap into lived frustrations like performative social dynamics, misogyny, capitalist absurdity, and the performance of identity. And they do all of this with a delivery that’s often sardonic, sometimes aggressive, and always sharply aware. Honestly, my take is that Fake Fruit isn't interested in being background music. They want to cut through apathy, and that’s achieved through their sonic soundscape, but also their lyrical themes & performance.

What To Expect Sonically

Fake Fruit delivers a wiry, nervy brand of post-punk that feels like it's constantly on the edge of falling apart. Their sound leans into rawness and tension rather than precision or polish, which sorta channels the kind of live, unpredictable energy that thrives in small, sweat-soaked venues (been there, done that - would do it again, and again). Guitars are jagged and very staccato-ed, often acting more like punctuation to themes, rather than attaching to the melody. Vocals from Hannah swing between deadpan detachment and agitated outbursts, threading irony, frustration, and sarcasm into every line with a performance that will be talking, yelling, singing, or all of the above. Basslines drive the songs with a jittery, but careful pulse, and the drums are tight but scrappy, keeping everything moving with just enough looseness to feel human.

The production on Mucho Mistrust (our rec today) is purposefully stripped back. It was actually recorded live to tape at Jack Shirley’s Atomic Garden studio, giving it that warm, analog grain. You can hear the room, the bleed, the urgency. Nothing feels over-processed or airbrushed; instead, the record captures the band in their natural habitat: slightly chaotic, a little noisy, deeply alive. Genre-wise, they're rooted in post-punk, but also brush against art punk, garage rock, and moments of no wave dissonance. If you're into bands like Priests, Shopping, Dry Cleaning, Protomartyr, or early Yeah Yeah Yeahs, you’ll feel right at home. Think: less “cool detachment,” more “playfully hostile stare-down.”

Trust Me Mucho

Our rec this week is really going to be an acquired taste for people. It’s super, SUPER raw and takes me back to the moments when I’ve jammed older punk and rock records from the 60s, some of the 70s, and some of the 80s. It feels uniquely nostalgic, but also new-age in its own regard. Check this one out!

Thanks for reading here, Finetuners! I do hope you all have enjoyed this week’s Finetuned. I’d appreciate any insights, admiration, or otherwise. You can reply to the newsletter directly or DM me on Twitter. (or email me here: [email protected])

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See you all in the next one! 🙌