by Nathan Cardiff

Thrashy, sludgey, and buzzy, BUMMER’s brand of rock and roll will have your teeth shaking loose when you play them loud enough. And that’s how they should be listened to: LOUD as all hell. The pulsing bass guitar makes your vision go blurry on songs “Infinite Witches” and “Phantom Limb,” while the drums beat their way into your brain. This trio knows how to make a terrific amount of noise and their blood boils in their music. Milk, their four-track EP, slams you around with Matt Perrin’s screaming vocals knocking you flat. “You’re entitled to nothing” he shouts at the end of “Infinite Witches” keeping us all in line. BUMMER is in control here.

The bloodthirsty “Estocada” has a killer guitar riff to match the violence of the song (Estocada is the thrusting of the matador’s sword at the end of a bullfight), though Perrin pleads in defense of the beast. “Phantom Limb” has all the angst you can want in a song (“It’s a hoax/Happiness, love, and hope/It’s a fucking joke”) with the snarl and spit to back it up.

Milk ends with the furious “Cave Teeth” destroying everything in its path. The EP seems like it is fuming in its rage and seeing red, but BUMMER knows how to rock without a blind fury. They always keep an eye on the blade.

Favorite Track: “Estocada” & “Phantom Limb”

by Nathan Cardiff