SMALL BROWN BIKE:
Fell & Found: CD/LP
I knew that The Casket Lottery had a connection to Small Brown Bike (they did a split together) but having never listened to SBB before this release, I didn’t realize how much the two bands sound alike. Thankfully, for someone such as myself, that’s quite all right, as I also really enjoy The Casket Lottery. Without knowing their back catalog or history (except that they’re from Michigan) I can only judge the band on this album. This is their first full-length album since they broke up in 2004. Recorded and produced by J. Robbins, Fell & Found’s eleven songs clock in at around forty minutes. Thanks to Robbins’ contribution, the recording sounds great. The band has three vocalists, all of which contribute fairly and complement one another. While not quite as broad of a contrast, there are similarities between the vocalists from Dillinger Four. Of the three, one is cleaner sounding while another is a little more scratchy and deeper. It serves as a nice distinction. Musically, the sound is very reminiscent of the indie rock stylings of… ah, fuck it. These guys sound just like The Casket Lottery and I love it. This album has the quality you’ve come to expect from No Idea’s releases, the fine production work of J. Robbins, and the sound of a band with nothing to lose and no care as to what anyone else thinks. Songs like “On Repeat” had me after the first listen: great lyrics, driving music, and an emotional sound that isn’t stagnant or sappy. And the whole album is like that. It’s as if the band took my favorite indie rock/post-punk stylings from my college years (late ‘90s and early ‘00s) and made an album meant to take me back there. And that’s okay by me. Thanks, Small Brown Bike!
–Kurt Morris (No Idea)