Bummers – self-titled

By Ryan G

There are great live bands, and there are bands that gives you a new appreciation for their sound when the album finally releases. Bummers does both.

I’ve always been on board with Bummers’ live experience. Musically they have been somewhat of a grower for me. After all, reverb laden surf rock is somewhat of a fad these days – just read Pitchfork or the latest Pitchfork wannabe to get an idea of this. Bummers might be the band that has accomplished the sound the best so far. This is because they are doing things for the sheer love of it – they aren’t’ trying too hard. Their online presence isn’t terribly prolific – no online music videos. No hype behind the release of their full length debut. They simply released it with no warning, U2-style.

The popularity of Bummers has spread largely word of mouth-style, even leading to some radio airplay. So they always have a crowd at shows. I hope this crowd takes the time to get to know this full length because it crams a crap-ton of cool ideas into one concise, fun, danceable record. The shrill “Thighs” is a banger of a song to kick off the record. Too intense too early? Nope! Its merely one of many ideas under one umbrella shielding a “surf’s up” mentality. “Lucky” sounds like it would fit right in alongside some classic Beach Boys tunes.

Something else important to note is that many of these songs sound like they were born out of spontaneous jams. I know for a fact this was the case with “Thighs” but the emphasis on one riff, one groove, and the lack of a traditional verse/chorus structure leads me to believe this was the case with a lot of the tracks on the record. “Shooter” is a good example of this.

Also, many tracks take one idea and choose emphasis rather than dragging it out. “Shooter” and “Steve’s Surf Expedition” (ya gotta love that title!) are awesome examples of this. “Less is more” is a mentality that Bummers embraces. Don’t risk people losing interest. Leave ’em wanting more.

One last thing: If you like Real Estate’s new record but want something higher energy in that same vein, you’ll dig this.