I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME has a policy that music making should be fresh and fun. Having only released EPs and singles, RAZZMATAZZ is the first full length album released by the Salt Lake City-based duo, and is definitely reflective of the fresh and fun production process.

I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME (idkHOW) consist of singer and bassist Dallon Weekes and drummer Ryan Seaman. Seaman previously drummed in the band Falling in Reverse. Weekes spent time in the band Panic! At The Disco. The two musicians originally worked together in a band known as The Brobecks. idkHOW was originally a secret project, only playing gigs in small bars and clubs.

“They say the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don’t,” Dallon Weekes sings in the opening song “Leave Me Alone,” a song about disengaging from toxic situations.The song is reminiscent of many top tracks of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Even though the song has a depressing theme, it makes you want to get up and dance.

idkHOW is known for their use of retro sounds to craft contemporary rock songs. Weekes, the main writer of the lyrics for the album, shows off his lyrical strength by using simple phrases to pack a punch. In “Mad IQs”, Weekes sings, “in this world to survive / We can live while we’re alive / Or we can die” and speaks of himself as “a voluntary victim.” 

The record contains multiple reflections on the times. In “Clusterhug,” originally a Brobecks song,  Weekes refers to a person of interest by saying “Darling, you’re a holy quarantine.”

The title track “Razzmatazz,” is an upbeat and funky song reflecting on stardom and the toxicity of the music industry. The lyric, ”And now some things just cannot be fixed / With sparkled tongues and politics,” tells the listener about how fatally flawed the music industry is. Like the music industry, the song draws the listener in with tantalizing piano and saxophone solos.

“From The Gallows” is one of the shining stars of the record. At first, it sounds like a love ballad straight from the ‘60s, but ends as an alternative rock song with very dark undertones. “Lord knows, you’re beautiful / But you’re evil / Fact is / You’re downright vicious too,” sings Weekes.

RAZZMATAZZ is unlike any album released. It tells you what it is going to be, and then does the complete opposite. It gets you hyped up and then brings you down to earth. Fact is, the world needs more albums that push the limits like RAZZMATAZZ.