Mumblr, The Never Ending Get Down

Mumblr are from Philadelphia, and whatever else I could say about them, here’s the most important thing: they’re never boring.

Their latest record The Never Ending Get Down has a few less jagged edges than their first (Full of Snakes, 2014) and feels more . . . contemplative, I guess. Like it’s the kind of thing you could put on while staring at the ceiling waiting for the spins to wear off, or setting up for your Very Adult and Also Punk Rock Dinner Party.

Here’s what I like about it: it’s still familiar Mumblr-style punk noise, but it’s layered and nuanced punk noise, periodically punctuated (illustrated?) by contrasting rock riffs.

It’s streaming on their bandcamp and also Soundcloud, and you can listen to it below. Meanwhile, the band themselves are on an extended tour, and if you’re in the upper MidWest, check their dates and see if you can go and experience them live. It will be a face-melting good time, I promise.

The Never Ending Get Down by Mumblr

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Nick Morrison, Mumblr

It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Mumblr, scrappy little band of my heart (East Coast division), recently had the opportunity to be part of the Red Room Series, a new session series which is, like them, out of Philadelphia. My first reaction on seeing the videos was They’re playing in good light!!! What!!! because I may possibly have … Continue reading

Video: Mumblr, Got It

This is the video for Got It, by Mumblr, from Full of Snakes, and it contains: Philadelphia, wet, gray and grimy and somehow more dear for it; inexplicable pantslessness; joyous headbanging and moshing; and a chorus that will probably get lodged in your head.

Also, while I have only attended one of their shows so far, I can tell you those crowd shots are not the product of artful editing or careful staging, that is what it’s actually like, them going full throttle while the room winds up into an explosion of punk rock joy. That moment where everyone bangs their head at once? That is the sweet spot, and they know how to hit it.

Mumblr- Got ItMumblr- Got It
Watch this video on YouTube

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2014: A Year In Pictures

A year of rock n’ roll, in pictures, including two shows from late December 2013, which I shot after I posted last years’ Year in Pictures.

Tonight I’m headed out to dance the New Year in with Erasure (!); have fun and be safe, y’all, and I’ll see you on the other side.

The Districts, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, Dec. 30, 2013

The Felice Brothers, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, Dec. 30, 2013

Team Spirit, Irving Plaza, New York, NY, Dec. 31, 2013

Andrew W.K., Irving Plaza, New York, NY, Dec. 31, 2013

Fadeaway Friends Benefit 001, NGHBRS, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ, Jan. 10, 2014

Fadeaway Friends Benefit 001, States and Kingdoms, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ, Jan. 10, 2014

Fadeaway Friends Benefit 001, Frank Iero, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ, Jan. 10, 2014

Fadeaway Friends Benefit 001, The Gay Blades, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ, Jan. 10, 2014

Fadeaway Friends Benefit 002, Fred Mascharino, St. Vitus, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 18, 2014

Fadeaway Friends Benefit 002, States and Kingdoms, St. Vitus, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 18, 2014

Fadeaway Friends Benefit 002, Geoff Rickley, St. Vitus, Brooklyn, … Continue reading

Fleeting Youth Records: Blooming

Blooming, the new compilation from Fleeting Youth Records, is 33 songs/90+ minutes of occasionally fuzzy goodness. There really is something in there for everyone. Here are a couple tunes to whet your appetites:

Simple Syrup by Lurve: deceptively sweet, surprisingly heavy on the bottom end.

Sloppy Joes by Vomitface (nice name, guys): perfect for if you enjoy a good heavy metal headbang two-step but cannot be having with ogre roar. I’m swaying slowly in my chair as I type.

Philadelphia by Mumblr: Because they are my faaaaavorite, okay, and I’m more fond of this song than the city it’s about. They’ve written an anthem for one complex, gritty, sometimes ugly place but it’s universally applicable: your place might be a hot mess but it is your place, where-ever it is.

Tidal Grave by Assault Shaker: This one has, I think, I little bit more of a pop-industrial edge, what with the opening sample and droning vocals. But it’s good stuff.

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Mumblr, Full of Snakes

Mumblr, of Philadelphia, have recently released their first full-length effort. It is called Full of Snakes. The accuracy of that title will depend entirely on your personal feelings about snakes. (I have a certain wary appreciation, providing no venemous fangs are in evidence.) I have a good deal warmer feelings about the record; it’s brash and messy and weird and contains a love letter to Philadelphia which gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it:

But there are also tunes like Sober, which is distorted, fuzzy, primal shriek of anxiety:

And Greyhound Station which seething, roaring meditation on the strange combination of sweaty exhaustion, low-level terror, and rage that eventually settles on anyone required to spend any time in the titular location:

It can be a challenging listen, at times, but it is absolutely worth it. In conclusion: here is the video for I Think About You All The Time – also their first video ever – which contains a dude in green paint for no apparent reason and some nudity towards the end. Adjust your viewing plans accordingly.

ITAUATT (I Think About u All The Time) by MumblrITAUATT  … <a class= Continue reading

Mumblr, White Jesus/Black God

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Mumblr is: Nick Morrison (vocals, guitar), Scott Stitzer (drums), Ian Amidon (guitar) and Sean Reilly (bass), and they are from North Philadelphia. White Jesus/Black God is their first record.

They have made up their own genre – fuzz punk – which at first I thought might be a new way to say grunge, but no, this is definitely fuzzed out and distorted punk rock. It is gloriously obnoxious and exactly what I needed after several weeks of floating in a dream pop / electronica haze. Here are three tunes I especially liked:

Holy Ghost: This may be the most aggressive song about making out and grammar arguments that you will listen to today.
 
Mumblr- White Jesus/Black God by Fleeting Youth Records
 
Puke: The first 20 seconds of this song sound like a rock n’ roll accident, like someone swung a wrecking ball into the middle of the band and knocked everyone into the speakers and amps. The rest of it sounds like they all managed to stand up and … Continue reading