Around The Fur is Sacremento Natives, the Deftones’ 1997, second studio album. “Around The Fur” is an uncomfortable and personal album filled with memorable lyrics from Chino Moreno, harsh guitar, and drums that are sure to leave an impression.

The album starts with a bang with “My Own Summer (Shove It)” immediately setting the vibe, with heavy screaming vocals and an immediately recognizable guitar riff that will stick with the listener long after the album has ended. The lyrics portray someone who is sick of the sun and the heat of the summer where shade is the only escape from the excruciating heat, wishing that god would get rid of the crowds on the street and the sun in the sky.

The album transitions into “Lhabia” with whispering, distorted, and angry vocals which are by far the most notable thing about the song.

The third track “Mascara” is a bit slower than the other songs on the album with whining vocals talking about a complicated relationship that he can’t help but get drawn back into for a reason he can’t understand. This song is one of the darkest and most uncomfortable on the album. The lyrics and theme carry over very well into the next song on the album.

The title track “Around the Fur” comments on the vainness of fashion and vanity by using fur as a metaphor, While it may seem soft and pretty on the outside it’s still a dead animal. But the song itself is more of what you expect on the album: distorted guitars and loud energetic vocals.

Fifth is “Rickets” which has insane drums and great guitar with vocals. Rickets is the most fun song on the album even if the lyrics don’t reflect that.

Sixth is  “Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)” which starts much calmer than Rickets and is a nice change of pace for the album taking the energy down a notch while still keeping an energetic vibe. 

The seventh track “Lotion” immediately starts with much more energy than “Be Quiet And Drive” with loud screaming vocals that give the song an eerie feeling.

The eighth track “Dai The Flu” starts with the drums and bass taking center stage before the guitar kicks in just to transition into whispering vocals. 

Next is the ninth track “Head Up” which starts with a great intro of a heavily distorted guitar with whispering vocals behind it that slowly leads into an explosive start that starts the song off with a bang. The song’s lyrics are almost incomprehensible which leads the vocals into almost an instrumental of their own. The song ends with a slow creeping instrumental which transitions nicely into the final song on the album.

“MX” is the longest song on the album running at a total of 37 minutes and 17 seconds taking up half of the entire album’s run time. The song is mostly completely silent leaving only the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes actually having music on it so I’ll split it up into those 2 parts. 

Starting with the first 5 minutes. It starts with garbled vocals that sound like it was recorded underwater, then distorted a million times leaving it to feel almost futuristic and cool at the same time. The song also has women’s vocals in the background.

 The last 5 minutes are more of the same from the album with harsh screaming vocals ending the album on a boring note leaving it to feel more of the same.

This album is great but a lot of the songs start to sound a little similar. This album does have some standouts like Shove It, Lotion, Around The Fur, and Rickets but the album leaves me wanting more of the dirty, intense, and uncomfortable atmosphere that the album creates.