Orlando’s Future Bartenderz have just unveiled their landmark 20th album on their (very busy) Bandcamp page, Saffron Risotto Time!
Future Bartenderz, the (mostly) solo project of musician and writer Brian Costello, have been serving up arty punk of the highest order — with a raised eyebrow — since 2018.
As a bonus for his fellow Orlandoans, Costello’s lyrical jabs are often very place-specific, with references to Mills 50, College Park and local photo booths of repute often popping up.
“It’s more garage-punk than the others and we’re sucking less at recording. Buzzcocks cover, a song about Bergman films, a couple Stooges, a Flipper, and one side one Emotional Rescue reference,” summed up Costello succinctly in the liner notes.
Saffron is indeed more urgent an album than (some) previous offerings, with a filthy guitar sound and pleasantly raw vocal recording. The title track — with the sublime couplet “You better never, ever, never ever leave Orlando / because you’ll flop as hard as the film production of Cats” — and the breathless gallop that is “Cocoa Beach” stand out as particular highlights. Someone give him some of that United Arts money sloshing around.
Saffron Risotto Time! is available for streaming or as a $10 download through Bandcamp.
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This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2025.