Small Brown Bike - Fell & Found

I've been embarassingly remiss in writing about this, which is odd, as I really like Small Brown Bike in 2011. I was (and am) a little surprised at how much I like the 7"s and how ridiculously solid Fell & Found is. I wish I could say the same thing for the Braid EP that I'm praying was mislabeled.

But I digress.

Small Brown Bike called it quits in 2004 after a pretty decent eight year run. The projects that the members got into post-SBB (Lasalle, Able Baker Fox) were ok, but they more often than not reminded me that I should bust out the old stuff. SBB were pretty aces at Cake Shop this Spring and while they played a couple of these tunes, most notably In Need Of Everything, I personally didn't see the signs that Fell & Found was going to be so damn aces. But it is. J. Robbins does his usual stellar work with the top-notch material, lending an expansive sound to material that is mature, but not in a played-out Split Lip to Chamberlain sort of way. I would recommend anyone who is a fan of the genre to go out of their way to buy Fell & Found with the quickness.

Find here the linkness.

R

Small Brown Bike - Composite, Volume One

Whouda thunk? The Small Brown Bike is back! And with the original lineup even. Works for me. I've had an SBB sticker on my Surly for years now and while it garners the odd bit of mockery from the odd Figg drummer here and there, most of the feedback has concerned how great they were back in the day and how scads of bands have ripped them off. While the ex-members have started various ill-fated side projects like Able Baker Fox and LaSalle, none of the post-Bike projects caught fire on a level of the original franchise.

Small Brown Bike played The Fest this year to much adulation from fans old and new. The nice young(ish) men that they are, they have been kind enough to actually trot out some new material to commemorate their return. It's a 7" on No Idea called Composite, Volume One and I'll be damned if it doesn't sound a lot like some of the best stuff from their early years. While you should, don't take my word for it. Var and Co. have both tracks streaming over at the No Idea web presence here, so why not try that shit then buy that shit. It's the perfect gift for Mom for the holidays.

R