BOMB THE MUSIC INDUSTRY! VACATION.
If there's still a few scattered embers of the fire of '80s punk, hardcore and the birth of D.I.Y., they are
burning inside Bomb the Music Industry! Formed by Jeff Rosenstock as a bedroom project reaction to
the serious business machinations of his former band, BTMI! was never supposed to sell over 10,000
records or tour the world. They weren't supposed to headline festivals or drive their van over 300,000
miles. At the core of the band is the kind of reverse-careerist leaning that's more at home in a vicious
thrash-crust-death-horror-rap-band. Instead, it's dressed up like Elvis Costello or Rivers Cuomo, a self-
deprecating bunch of punks playing smart-ass pop songs. Oh, and giving it all away for free on the
internet.
Since 2004, Rosenstock and a rotating cast of guitarists, keyboardists, drummers, bassists, mandolin
players, horn players, and assorted weirdos have been writing and recording music under the Bomb
the Music Industry! banner. And every single song has been released by Rosenstock's own Pay What
You Can online-only label, Quote Unquote Records. It's a choice that predated Radiohead or Nine Inch
Nails, and it didn't stop the band from selling thousands of physical records, endearing them to a fan
base who recognized that BTMI! were a band that actually respected and trusted them. That Scrambles,
the band's last record, has been downloaded over 60,000 times, isn't half-bad, either.
When you look BTMI!'s history through that lens, it makes sense that
Vacation, their latest full-length,
will be the first release through their own label, the freshly-minted Ready Records. A further step
away from the band's entrenched punk origins,
Vacation will resonate with fans of bands like Titus
Andronicus or the Thermals, ethically punk bands who take the genre and run in a totally new direction
with it. For Rosenstock and BTMI!, that means thrashing My Aim Is True-style jams through the hive-
mind of a group of musicians raised on The Blue Album and old Superchunk. It's punk for guys and
girls who love Merge Records today as much as they loved Fat Wreck Chords in high school. It's music
that's not ashamed of its past, but isn't interested in reliving it.
Thematically, the band have been moving away from the dark introspection of their past material, with
Rosenstock penning many of
Vacation's songs while on a literal vacation in Belize, hanging out on
the beach and, for once, writing songs from a positive, grounded headspace. The optimistic tone of
the record suits the band's loose, fun style, and as a result, Vacation has the very real feeling of a band
coming in to their own, discovering what they do best and truly being comfortable in their own skin.
Record by Rosenstock and guitar Tom Malinowski at their practice spaces, the record also features
contributions from across the country, with friends in bands like Fake Problems, Bayside, Andrew
Jackson Jihad, and Good Luck adding to tracks from their own homes, or when they would tour into
BTMI!'s homebase of New York City. It's easily the biggest and best sounding record of the band's
career, and marks the first time they've enlisted someone outside the band to mix and master, ensuring
the final product is seriously massive.
Vacation will still be available online, for free, as well as on vinyl and CD through Ready Records. The
band plans to tour like crazy once its released, adding a few more thousand miles to their worn-in van,
and spreading the gospel of grown-up punks truly doing it themselves.
Campaign for a Better Next Weekend // Vocal Coach // Everybody That You Love // Sponge Board/Baby Waves // The Shit That You Hate // Hurricane Waves // Sick, Later. // Why, Oh Why, Oh Why (Oh Oh Oh Oh) // Savers // Can't Complain // Everybody That Loves You // Sunny Place/Shady People // Felt Just Like Vacation
BUY THIS RECORD
