Piggy
Undignified (Sum Dumb Fun)

Piggy has had an unfortunate run of things. The band has seen at least three vocalists depart and had guitarist and founder Ron Reyes waylaid by an ill-fated Black Flag experience that overshadowed the release of its debut EP, Undignified.

Issued on spattered pink vinyl, Undignified is a one-sided slab of tuneful garage-blues-punk-pop, filled with gestures to the ’60s and ’70s—and the ’90s, if you count vocalist Izzy Gibson’s Courtney Love–influenced snarls, pouts, and roars. Gibson replaced Pat Kreep, who replaced Alexa Bardach; in turn, Gibson has been replaced by Ange Trash, whom Reyes describes as “a little dynamo”. She’s got something to live up to, because Gibson is terrific covering Black Flag’s “Jealous Again” with every bit of Reyes’s original ferocity.

Other highlights include a snotty, attitude-enriched breakup song, “Your Face” (“if I had a chance to do it over, I’d do it without you”), and the bouncy “L.A. Blues”.

Seeing Reyes on guitar live always made this reviewer wish he was watching Reyes sing instead, but on record it’s a lot easier to enjoy what he’s doing—nothing groundbreaking, but there are catchy, classic licks left and right and a totally sincere love for punk, rock, and music in general. Plus it’s way better than that Black Flag album.