Bumbo’s Tinto Brass Band

Reviews

Bumbo’s Tinto Brass Band V.3 LP

BUMBO’S TINTO BRASS BAND cranks up the weirdness and delivers ten songs to annoy your neighbours with. Yes, “everything sounds slightly off” is definitely a trope in the art-rock side of the post-punk spectrum, but it’s not an easy one to nail at all. One might think it’s about tuning your instruments a bit weird or playing slightly off-beat, but I believe it’s more of a headspace that you can either get into or not…and it sounds like they were born there. I really enjoyed how unapologetically amorphous this record is, and I’m sure you will as well. Bonus points for the vocalist who sounds like D. Boon.

Bumbo’s Tinto Brass Band Maybe Later EP

Interesting mix of modern post-punk and artful post-rock—think URANIUM CLUB meets ’90s-era Thrill Jockey bands like TORTOISE and the SEA AND CAKE. Most of the tracks follow a low-key approach that blends lightly distorted bass grooves with shuffling drums, clean and jazzy guitar lines, and spoken vocals. There are no major hooks or big moments, but the record flows well, highlighting the restrained performances that are occasionally punctuated by a warbling theremin. This is an evening jam, cool and mellow without being weak or relegated to the background.

Bumbo’s Tinto Brass Band Cosmic Butter EP

When I get a review assignment for a release by a band I’m unfamiliar with, I try to go into my first listen context-free to avoid bringing any bias I may have about members’ past projects. That was not the best approach with these guys. Had I done a little research, I might have been able to brace myself for the wild-ass din that blasted out my headphones as soon as I put on the Cosmic Butter EP. BUMBO’S TINTO BRASS BAND is centered around Detroit-area bass player Brian “Bumbo” Krawczyk, whom you may know from noisy art-punk bands PIRANHAS or DRUID PERFUME. As raw and experimental as those bands were, BUMBO’S TINTO BRASS BAND makes them feel straightforward by comparison. Most of the seven tracks on this EP (one of which is a cover of a RESIDENTS song) sound like at least two songs being played at once—one by a PREENING-like, sax-heavy no wave band, and one by a smooth, STEREOLAB-y modular synth, avant-pop band. These guys are here to freak squares the fuck out! I appreciate that BUMBO’S TINTO BRASS BAND is out there making palatable yet genuinely experimental music in a time when a lot of other bands are content to rehash shit we’ve already heard. But I’m also like 80% square, so, while I dug a few songs, getting through the rest felt like a chore.