As seen on Stereogum...
"I think at this point we can all accept that we’ll never be able to keep track of exactly which month is being celebrated by Boston singer/songwriter Jeff Meff’s project. We wrote about him last year when he was Fat History Month and was releasing songs including “Sad History Month” and “Bald History Month,” and now the project has been renamed Bad History Month (also the name of his album last year). It doesn’t really matter what it’s called though when the man behind it remains arguably the best lyricist in the Boston DIY scene. BHM’s music has always been more stripped down than many of the other artists in that predominantly punk scene, putting the full weight on the words, which often comprise vivid observations on death, depression, and existential pain that feel uplifting simply because they’re so beautifully written. On his upcoming release, Famous Cigarettes, a split with Dust From 1000 Yrs, that sentiment has become truer than ever.
“Staring At My Hands” is the first song to come from the release and shows Bad History Month returning as a solo project with a significant shift in sound. That becomes clear when you hear the noisy opening electronic pulse that gives way to brittle drum machine beats among other shifting textures. Wrapping piano, drums, guitar, and electronics around his voice like a warm, fuzzy blanket, it’s the sort of manipulated “headphone folk” that earns a comparison to the Microphones’ The Glow Pt. 2. It lays out a foundation for Meff’s voice delivering line after heartrending line. Near the end of the song, the music builds, only to swoon out as Meff raises his voice and delivers the climatic line, “Staring at my hands and picturing them decomposing/ feeling my existence as a ripple in an endless ocean/ not even a drop, I will take no substance with me when I’m gone/ Because my body’s the same as the sea.” It’s a completely overwhelming moment, just one of the many pieces that make up the best song I’ve heard from him. Listen to it below and check out their tour dates.
Famous Cigarettes is out 6/10 via Exploding in Sound. Pre-order here.
A note on these tour dates: You may notice this massive country spanning tour for BHM and Dust this Summer has many odd looking dates. With some slight formatting changes, we’ve posted them as they were sent to us which came with a note and the BHM email address encouraging anyone interested in hosting a show, be it house or venue, to reach out to them at lovingdadmakes@gmail.com.
06/04 Worcester, MA @ Distant Castle
06/05 Peterborough, NH @ Thing In The Spring @ Toadstool Bookshop w/ Magik Markers, Suicide Magnets
06/06 Lowell, MA @ Wilder Zangcraft
06/07 Albany, NY @ The Low Beat
06/08 New England WANNA HELP??
06/09 Boston, MA @ Charlie’s Kitchen
06/10 Biddeford, ME @ The Oak And The Ax
06/11 New Haven, CT @ West Haven
06/12 Meriden, CT @ Topless Floridian Funtopolis
06/13 Brooklyn, NY @ Silent Barn w/ Pile, Porches., (New England) Patriots
06/14 Philadelphia, PA @ The Great Indoors
06/15 New Brunswick, NJ (TBA)
06/16 Kutztown, PA @ Ratail Records
06/17 Atlantic City, NJ (TBA)
06/18 Charlottesville, VA @ Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
06/19 West Virginia WANNA HELP??
06/20 Athens, OH @ Guxxi Shane’s
06/21 Cincinnati, OH @ The Comet
06/22 Bloomington/Louisville WANNA HELP??
06/23 Bloomington/Naptown WANNA HELP??
06/24 IL WANNA HELP??
06/25 Milwaukee, WI @ Quarters
06/26 Madison / IL (TBA)
06/27 Chicago, IL @ The Observatory
06/28 St Louis (TBA)
06/29 KC? WANNA HELP??
06/30 Omaha WANNA HELP??
07/01 Denver WANNA HELP??
07/02 ???????
07/03 Missoula (TBA)
07/04 Moscow, ID @ Ouija Hole
07/05 Seattle (TBA)
07/06 Bellingham (TBA)
07/07 NW WANNA HELP??
07/08 Portland (TBA)
07/09 Eugene WANNA HELP??
07/10 Arcata (TBA)
07/11 Eureka (TBA)
07/12 Bay WANNA HELP??
07/13 San Francisco @ hemlock tavern
07/14 Isla Vista CA @ biko garage
07/15 LA (TBA)
07/16 San Diego (TBA)
07/17 Flagstaff (TBA)
07/18 Albuquerque (TBA)
07/19 Albuquerque (TBA)
07/20 Oklahoma City (TBA)
07/21 Tulsa (TBA)
07/22 Little Rock (TBA)
07/23 Nashville (TBA)
07/24 Murfreesboro TN (TBA)
07/25 Carbondale IL (TBA)
07/26 Champaign IL? WANNA HELP??
07/27 Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
07/28 Columbus WANNA HELP??
07/29 Cleveland WANNA HELP??
07/30 Toronto (TBA)
07/31 Montreal WANNA HELP??
08/01 New England
08/02 New England
08/03 New England
08/04 New England
08/05 New England"
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Geronimo! Premiere Cheap Trick via Stereogum
As seen on Stereogum...
"One of the recent additions to Exploding In Sound’s ever expanding roster is the Chicago punk band Geronimo! who really earn that exclamation point in their name with the new album Cheap Trick. That much was clear from the single we recently premiered, “Mr. President,” but just as that song played with unpredictable dynamics, the album as a whole jumps all over the place. Starting with subdued, somber rock mixed with electronically treated vocals on “Electronic Parrot,” the band moves through a set of songs that pay tribute to the experimental rock of ’90s greats like Brainiac without letting you forget the IL natives the album title honors. Stream the whole thing below.."
Cheap Trick is out 5/13 via Exploding In Sound. Order it here.
"One of the recent additions to Exploding In Sound’s ever expanding roster is the Chicago punk band Geronimo! who really earn that exclamation point in their name with the new album Cheap Trick. That much was clear from the single we recently premiered, “Mr. President,” but just as that song played with unpredictable dynamics, the album as a whole jumps all over the place. Starting with subdued, somber rock mixed with electronically treated vocals on “Electronic Parrot,” the band moves through a set of songs that pay tribute to the experimental rock of ’90s greats like Brainiac without letting you forget the IL natives the album title honors. Stream the whole thing below.."
Cheap Trick is out 5/13 via Exploding In Sound. Order it here.
Krill on Breakthru Radio's Serious Business!
As seen on BreakThru Radio...
"Exploding In Sound is a Brooklyn-based music blog and label, specializing in the often-guitar-heavy, 90s-leaning rock sound that we love so much at Serious Business On BTR. They cut no corners whatsoever on their promise of "delivering good rock music since 2008." We've had a number of EIS-connected bands in for sessions in the past, so we thought we'd make our love real and invited them to do a little takeover for the next few weeks!
For the second installment of the series we welcomed Krill, the Massachusetts-based band who just about everybody and their mother has told us that we ABSOLUTELY NEED TO BOOK. You know what? They were right. This fierce, charming, hooky trio crank out the jams in the most delicious of ways. Check it out and get into the Krill action!
Featured song:"Unbounded Nameless Future"
Check out the complete broadcast and audio playlist HERE!
00:00 INTRO TO THE PROGRAM
00:17 SWEET DEATH
03:53 Chat
06:22 TURD
11:09 Chaat
18:55 UNBOUNDED NAMELESS FUTURE
22:45 Chaaat
31:30 FRESH POND
36:40 Chaaaat
57:53 Serious Business Promo Bumper
58:23 Finish
Krill's latest release, Steve Hears Pile in Malden and Bursts Into Tears, is now available from Exploding In Sound.
Recorded TUE MAR 25, 2014 at Serious Business Music, NYC. All knobs by Travis Harrison with assistance from Hansdale Hsu, Joe Reichel, Will Brant."
"Exploding In Sound is a Brooklyn-based music blog and label, specializing in the often-guitar-heavy, 90s-leaning rock sound that we love so much at Serious Business On BTR. They cut no corners whatsoever on their promise of "delivering good rock music since 2008." We've had a number of EIS-connected bands in for sessions in the past, so we thought we'd make our love real and invited them to do a little takeover for the next few weeks!
For the second installment of the series we welcomed Krill, the Massachusetts-based band who just about everybody and their mother has told us that we ABSOLUTELY NEED TO BOOK. You know what? They were right. This fierce, charming, hooky trio crank out the jams in the most delicious of ways. Check it out and get into the Krill action!
Featured song:"Unbounded Nameless Future"
Check out the complete broadcast and audio playlist HERE!
00:00 INTRO TO THE PROGRAM
00:17 SWEET DEATH
03:53 Chat
06:22 TURD
11:09 Chaat
18:55 UNBOUNDED NAMELESS FUTURE
22:45 Chaaat
31:30 FRESH POND
36:40 Chaaaat
57:53 Serious Business Promo Bumper
58:23 Finish
Krill's latest release, Steve Hears Pile in Malden and Bursts Into Tears, is now available from Exploding In Sound.
Recorded TUE MAR 25, 2014 at Serious Business Music, NYC. All knobs by Travis Harrison with assistance from Hansdale Hsu, Joe Reichel, Will Brant."
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Geronimo! Premiere "Spitting in the Ocean" via Wondering Sound
As seen on Wondering Sound...
"On the furiously-kicking “Spitting in the Ocean,” Illinois group Geronimo! pull off a nearly-impossible fusion, combining panicked post-punk clawing and kicking with a chorus so aerodynamic it yanks the song 500 feet into the sky. The combination of the warring aesthetics makes the song feel nervy and vital — one minute it’s kicking down walls, the next it’s apologizing, re-assembling them and dressing them with a fresh coat of paint. The song is a preview of the forthcoming Cheap Trick, which will be released by the excellent and ever-reliable label Exploding in Sound on May 13. Like “Spitting,” it’s full of roaring rock songs that volley from frantic to melodic and back again — a blinding rocket ride, right into the heart of the sun."
Tour Dates:
5/0l/l4 - Emporium - Chicago, IL w/ A Severe Joy
5/02/l4 - C Haus - Beloit, WI w/ A Severe Joy
5/03/l4 - Rockford Art Deli - Rockford, IL w/ A Severe Joy, Bloom
5/04/l4 - Grumpton Manor - Ann Arbor, MI w/ A Severe Joy, Orphanage, Bobby McManus
5/05/l4 - House of Pancakes - Grand Rapids, MI w/ Goddammit
5/07/l4 - The Crumb Home - Pittsburgh, PA w/ Partly Sunny, Bedroom Sons
5/08/l4 - Bug Jar - Rochester, NY w/ Cottage Jefferson, Pony Hand
5/09/l4 - Shea Stadium - Brooklyn, NY w/ Purling Hiss, Lost Boy?, Vulture Shit, bbigpigg
5/l0/l4 - Death by Audio - Brooklyn, NY w/ Ovlov, Dead Wives, LVL UP
5/ll/l4 - O'Brien's - Boston, MA w/ Kal Marks, Krill, Spouse
5/l2/l4 - Bunker Brewing - Portland, ME w/ A Severe Joy
5/l4/l4 - Wilder Zangcraft - Lowell, MA w/ Ovlov, Born Without Bones
5/l5/l4 - Dog Morgue - Philadelphia, PA w/ Snoozer, Ovlov, Sheer Mag, LMI
5/l6/l4 - Charm City Art Space - Baltimore, MD w/ Ovlov, Two Inch Astronaut, Et Al
5/l7/l4 - Tree Bar - Columbus, OH w/ Speed Governor
5/23/l4 - The Observatory - Chicago, IL - RECORD RELEASE SHOW w/ Death Bag, Den, The Flesh Seeds
6/2l/l4 - Green Music Fest - Chicago, IL w/ Guided By Voices, Viet Cong, Cheap Girls, Meat Wave
"On the furiously-kicking “Spitting in the Ocean,” Illinois group Geronimo! pull off a nearly-impossible fusion, combining panicked post-punk clawing and kicking with a chorus so aerodynamic it yanks the song 500 feet into the sky. The combination of the warring aesthetics makes the song feel nervy and vital — one minute it’s kicking down walls, the next it’s apologizing, re-assembling them and dressing them with a fresh coat of paint. The song is a preview of the forthcoming Cheap Trick, which will be released by the excellent and ever-reliable label Exploding in Sound on May 13. Like “Spitting,” it’s full of roaring rock songs that volley from frantic to melodic and back again — a blinding rocket ride, right into the heart of the sun."
Tour Dates:
5/0l/l4 - Emporium - Chicago, IL w/ A Severe Joy
5/02/l4 - C Haus - Beloit, WI w/ A Severe Joy
5/03/l4 - Rockford Art Deli - Rockford, IL w/ A Severe Joy, Bloom
5/04/l4 - Grumpton Manor - Ann Arbor, MI w/ A Severe Joy, Orphanage, Bobby McManus
5/05/l4 - House of Pancakes - Grand Rapids, MI w/ Goddammit
5/07/l4 - The Crumb Home - Pittsburgh, PA w/ Partly Sunny, Bedroom Sons
5/08/l4 - Bug Jar - Rochester, NY w/ Cottage Jefferson, Pony Hand
5/09/l4 - Shea Stadium - Brooklyn, NY w/ Purling Hiss, Lost Boy?, Vulture Shit, bbigpigg
5/l0/l4 - Death by Audio - Brooklyn, NY w/ Ovlov, Dead Wives, LVL UP
5/ll/l4 - O'Brien's - Boston, MA w/ Kal Marks, Krill, Spouse
5/l2/l4 - Bunker Brewing - Portland, ME w/ A Severe Joy
5/l4/l4 - Wilder Zangcraft - Lowell, MA w/ Ovlov, Born Without Bones
5/l5/l4 - Dog Morgue - Philadelphia, PA w/ Snoozer, Ovlov, Sheer Mag, LMI
5/l6/l4 - Charm City Art Space - Baltimore, MD w/ Ovlov, Two Inch Astronaut, Et Al
5/l7/l4 - Tree Bar - Columbus, OH w/ Speed Governor
5/23/l4 - The Observatory - Chicago, IL - RECORD RELEASE SHOW w/ Death Bag, Den, The Flesh Seeds
6/2l/l4 - Green Music Fest - Chicago, IL w/ Guided By Voices, Viet Cong, Cheap Girls, Meat Wave
Fond Han Premiere "Carrier" + "Private Split" Interview via Impose
As seen on Impose...
"In about one month, Exploding In Sound records will be releasing a new split cassette, Private Split, from Mattress Financial and Fond Han, the respective solo projects of Two Inch Astronaut vocalist/guitarist Sam Rosenberg and New Brunswick-based Thomas Baumann of Neur/Hot Fang. Today, Fond Han is unleashing his contribution to the split, "Carrier," to the world. A lo-fi grunge lullaby he recorded in his bedroom, Baumann has become a household name in the New Brunswick basement scene, a former resident of, and booker at, the now-defunct Alamo venue. We caught up with Rosenberg and Baumann about the split, which you can read below the stream.
Why solo projects now?
Baumann: I had been boiling down a stew of music last year in a life-sucking garage in New Brunswick. Mostly unfinished snake-pit-blues tunes with general vocal ideas, pretty much just spewing sickly vowel sounds between gulps of E&J. In August 2013, I cleaned up and moved to a farm near Princeton, where I started working with children again. I have always admired certain musicians’ ability to express challenge or pain with a neutral, observant tolerance. I could hear the same emotions without the croony stylistic bullshit I couldn’t avoid. Everything I have recorded in the past irritates me, like I want to tell the singer to shut up. I felt different about these new songs. I guess I had begun feeling more like a useful rag than an art school drama queen, and I wanted to make note of that with some recording. No time to work with others and explain everything, I just wanted it to be marked quickly, while it still felt real. My friend Matt Weiss also moved from New Brunswick to the farm house and wanted to record something in the new space. He had a bunch of gear, I had a batch of songs... ya mon.
Rosenberg: My primary musical bag is playing in Two Inch Astronaut, but I had a few songs that didn't quite fit the bill for that band. I amassed a small collection of these creepy little songs and thought it'd be fun to try and play most of the instruments on them. I'm attracted to things that are portable and practical, like a really good backpack, so I tried to write simple things that could stand on their own without much in the way of bells and whistles, or a capable bassist and drummer. I wasn't sure about releasing it, but Dan Goldin asked about it and I thought it'd be cool to do as a split with Tom because I instinctively trust him and I love his music. At the end of the day, playing with other people is more fun and far less stressful.
What's it like working in a more lo-fi setting than in previous work, as far as some of the opportunities and/or limitations it presents?
Baumann: It was a lot of fun. Lots of time for whacky tracking experiments that wouldn’t be used. The song "Carrier" actually had an entire fart beat box track (which I eventually replaced with drums). You can hear Matt and me laughing at the end of the song, which is from the end of the fart beat box track. It was one of the most painful laughs I can remember: tears, ab work out, snot...
Rosenberg: It wasn't entirely a conscious thing, I just wanted to give the recordings some character. Given the instrumentation of my side, if the production was all hi-fi, it might end up sounding (sonically at least) like Jack Johnson or some shit, which was not what I wanted. We ended up dirtying up a couple things to try and avoid the Dave Matthews Band end of the spectrum of acoustic guitar-based music. We recorded everything on the fly in different places, and I think that comes out in the recording in weird ways. We tracked in an office building, in my friend's room, and in the house I learned to play music in when I was a kid which had been put up for sale and had zero furniture.
How does it feel working with the Exploding in Sound fam?
Baumann: Since Dan sent me the EIS 2014 sampler cover graphic, and I saw “Fond Han” in that circle of band names, my gut has been smiling. Couldn’t be more grateful, or more excited. I love the bands, and for years have been deeply inspired by a few EIS musicians. So I am very happy.
Rosenberg: It's great, we're all very lucky. Dave and Dan are lovely guys and I really admire how fair they are about label stuff. They show everyone the same love and are endlessly supportive of every aspect of the bands. Also they're just good friends to have. Two Inch has played with all the label bands, but I'd love to play with them all again as many times as I can before I die. I would love to open for Nina Nastasia somehow, or Action Bronson.
Does the experience of solo work make you more introspective about songwriting? Describe the experience of writing and producing "Carrier." More personal than some of your other songs?
Baumann: I’m hitting a big brick wall trying to answer this question. The writing process of “Carrier” was similar to an insect’s last few days on a spider web, or a pile of diarrhea behind a half-vacant strip mall that remained overlooked until it had solidified into a dry, fibrous pie, which no one would be able to identify as diarrhea. Lyrically, the song has three sections: the first represents a long painful challenge; the second wallows in the speaker’s accepted disposition; and the third shows gratitude toward a life-saving relationship. “Carrier” isn’t any more personal than other songs, just the kind of personal one would be more reluctant to explain.
What are your plans for after the cassette comes out?
Baumann: Heck, I’ve got a crockpot of wet, hot, sticky, bowel-rocking tunes to come. More focused in layerd percussion and subtle rhythmic mutation. I’ve been making Frankenstein drum kits at the farm, like a sheet-metal batter-head on a kick, gas tank Rasta racks and big old hard drive discs hammered into bells. I’ve also got this great new dog. She’s sleeping with her head on my foot right now. I really look forward to touring without much gear so I can bring her. She loves my new songs.
Rosenberg: We're recording a new Two Inch Astronaut full-length in May, which I'm excited about. I'm not sure what's next for Mattress Financial. There are more songs. I'll probably continue to experiment with stuff that I don't know how to do and stuff that makes me comfortable. Tom and I are going on tour in June and are going to play on one another's songs I think, which I'm really psyched about.
Private Split will be released May 20 via Exploding In Sound on limited edition cassette/digital. It is available for pre-order now.
"In about one month, Exploding In Sound records will be releasing a new split cassette, Private Split, from Mattress Financial and Fond Han, the respective solo projects of Two Inch Astronaut vocalist/guitarist Sam Rosenberg and New Brunswick-based Thomas Baumann of Neur/Hot Fang. Today, Fond Han is unleashing his contribution to the split, "Carrier," to the world. A lo-fi grunge lullaby he recorded in his bedroom, Baumann has become a household name in the New Brunswick basement scene, a former resident of, and booker at, the now-defunct Alamo venue. We caught up with Rosenberg and Baumann about the split, which you can read below the stream.
Why solo projects now?
Baumann: I had been boiling down a stew of music last year in a life-sucking garage in New Brunswick. Mostly unfinished snake-pit-blues tunes with general vocal ideas, pretty much just spewing sickly vowel sounds between gulps of E&J. In August 2013, I cleaned up and moved to a farm near Princeton, where I started working with children again. I have always admired certain musicians’ ability to express challenge or pain with a neutral, observant tolerance. I could hear the same emotions without the croony stylistic bullshit I couldn’t avoid. Everything I have recorded in the past irritates me, like I want to tell the singer to shut up. I felt different about these new songs. I guess I had begun feeling more like a useful rag than an art school drama queen, and I wanted to make note of that with some recording. No time to work with others and explain everything, I just wanted it to be marked quickly, while it still felt real. My friend Matt Weiss also moved from New Brunswick to the farm house and wanted to record something in the new space. He had a bunch of gear, I had a batch of songs... ya mon.
Rosenberg: My primary musical bag is playing in Two Inch Astronaut, but I had a few songs that didn't quite fit the bill for that band. I amassed a small collection of these creepy little songs and thought it'd be fun to try and play most of the instruments on them. I'm attracted to things that are portable and practical, like a really good backpack, so I tried to write simple things that could stand on their own without much in the way of bells and whistles, or a capable bassist and drummer. I wasn't sure about releasing it, but Dan Goldin asked about it and I thought it'd be cool to do as a split with Tom because I instinctively trust him and I love his music. At the end of the day, playing with other people is more fun and far less stressful.
What's it like working in a more lo-fi setting than in previous work, as far as some of the opportunities and/or limitations it presents?
Baumann: It was a lot of fun. Lots of time for whacky tracking experiments that wouldn’t be used. The song "Carrier" actually had an entire fart beat box track (which I eventually replaced with drums). You can hear Matt and me laughing at the end of the song, which is from the end of the fart beat box track. It was one of the most painful laughs I can remember: tears, ab work out, snot...
Rosenberg: It wasn't entirely a conscious thing, I just wanted to give the recordings some character. Given the instrumentation of my side, if the production was all hi-fi, it might end up sounding (sonically at least) like Jack Johnson or some shit, which was not what I wanted. We ended up dirtying up a couple things to try and avoid the Dave Matthews Band end of the spectrum of acoustic guitar-based music. We recorded everything on the fly in different places, and I think that comes out in the recording in weird ways. We tracked in an office building, in my friend's room, and in the house I learned to play music in when I was a kid which had been put up for sale and had zero furniture.
How does it feel working with the Exploding in Sound fam?
Baumann: Since Dan sent me the EIS 2014 sampler cover graphic, and I saw “Fond Han” in that circle of band names, my gut has been smiling. Couldn’t be more grateful, or more excited. I love the bands, and for years have been deeply inspired by a few EIS musicians. So I am very happy.
Rosenberg: It's great, we're all very lucky. Dave and Dan are lovely guys and I really admire how fair they are about label stuff. They show everyone the same love and are endlessly supportive of every aspect of the bands. Also they're just good friends to have. Two Inch has played with all the label bands, but I'd love to play with them all again as many times as I can before I die. I would love to open for Nina Nastasia somehow, or Action Bronson.
Does the experience of solo work make you more introspective about songwriting? Describe the experience of writing and producing "Carrier." More personal than some of your other songs?
Baumann: I’m hitting a big brick wall trying to answer this question. The writing process of “Carrier” was similar to an insect’s last few days on a spider web, or a pile of diarrhea behind a half-vacant strip mall that remained overlooked until it had solidified into a dry, fibrous pie, which no one would be able to identify as diarrhea. Lyrically, the song has three sections: the first represents a long painful challenge; the second wallows in the speaker’s accepted disposition; and the third shows gratitude toward a life-saving relationship. “Carrier” isn’t any more personal than other songs, just the kind of personal one would be more reluctant to explain.
What are your plans for after the cassette comes out?
Baumann: Heck, I’ve got a crockpot of wet, hot, sticky, bowel-rocking tunes to come. More focused in layerd percussion and subtle rhythmic mutation. I’ve been making Frankenstein drum kits at the farm, like a sheet-metal batter-head on a kick, gas tank Rasta racks and big old hard drive discs hammered into bells. I’ve also got this great new dog. She’s sleeping with her head on my foot right now. I really look forward to touring without much gear so I can bring her. She loves my new songs.
Rosenberg: We're recording a new Two Inch Astronaut full-length in May, which I'm excited about. I'm not sure what's next for Mattress Financial. There are more songs. I'll probably continue to experiment with stuff that I don't know how to do and stuff that makes me comfortable. Tom and I are going on tour in June and are going to play on one another's songs I think, which I'm really psyched about.
Private Split will be released May 20 via Exploding In Sound on limited edition cassette/digital. It is available for pre-order now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)