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Fy Fan: S/T 7” (Feral Ward Records, 2007)
Fy Fan: Åh Nej 7” (Adult Crash Records, 2009)
Fy Fan: Ingen Framtid... ...För Alltid 7” (No Way Records, 2011)
For no particular reason I can remember, Sweden’s Fy Fan has been on my playlist a lot lately. Fy Fan was from Malmö, Sweden, just across the bridge from Copenhagen, Denmark, and they put out these three 7”s between 2007 and 2011. The list of labels on these—Feral Ward, Adult Crash, and No Way—is pretty phenomenal. Those were easily three of my favorite labels at the time (Adult Crash still is LOL), and all of them cosigning Fy Fan indicates how good the band is. Their “members of” list is also gnarly, touching Herätys and Stress SS, among many others.
This almost certainly flew over my head when these records came out, but listening to them in 2024, I feel pretty certain the Headcleaners were a huge influence on Fy Fan. (They also cover Nisses Notter on their first EP.) I hear Headcleaners in Fy Fan’s scratchy guitar sounds, their willingness to switch between uglier, full-bore hardcore and (slightly) more tuneful parts, and their singer’s raspy yet (again, slightly) tuneful snarl. My favorite bands on Kick N Punch Records in the early 2000s shared some of those characteristics too, and even though Fy Fan was a few years later, it feels like that scene left its imprint on the band. It wouldn’t surprise me if they got some production tips from those bands, as all of Fy Fan’s records have great, vintage-sounding recordings. Åh Nej almost sounds like a recording from Inner Ear’s golden era.
Since I’ve been listening to Fy Fan again, I looked up what the band’s name means in English. It’s a Swedish phrase that doesn’t have a direct English translation. The approximation I liked best was “fucking hell,” since how phrase nonsensically throws together two profane words approximates (from what I understand) the grammatical collision that happens with the Swedish term “fy fan.” I don’t understand it fully (maybe I’ll ask my friends in Vidro next time I see them), but it’s worth a deep dive if you’re interested in language or Swedish culture beyond just punk.
So yeah, three EPs, all of them rippers. If you’re over the age of 35, you probably remember Fy Fan from the first time around. Dig out your copies if you still have ‘em… I think you’ll find they’ve aged nicely. And if you’re younger than that, my quick survey of the Discogs marketplace informs me these records, accounting for inflation, still qualify as dollar bin ragers.