Franklin Bruno "The Irony Engine" 7 inch (Walt Records/1993)

Today's post  is going to be a quickie as I am short on time at the moment but anyhow here is another offering from the wonderful Franklin Bruno. I previously shared one of his singles, A Sand Dollar Relief Map and this single The Irony Engine is just as good if not better. It is hard to decide because quite simply Franklin Bruno does not write bad songs. Seriously. The melodies get stuck in your cranium and the lyrics are intelligent without coming off as pretentious. Like I said in my previous post if you like stuff like The Mountain Goats, in particular post All Hail West Texas then you will love Franklin Bruno. The Irony Engine is four tracks of fantastic lo fi bedroom pop and once the first track "Milk Crate" kicks in you will know that to be fact for yourself as well.

I should also mention that Franklin Bruno has a new band called The Human Hearts who will be releasing a 7 inch soon on Fayettenam Records and you can stream it here.

Franklin Bruno The Irony Engine track listing
1. Milk Crate
2. Sleeping Through the Jane Pratt Show
3. Medium of Exchange
4. Fond Icicle

Download Here

v/a "Ghost of a Rollercoaster" 7 inch (Shrimper/1991)

How I miss the days of Shrimper compilations. Shrimper released so many compilations like Ghost of a Rollercoaster that were a revelation of sorts to me growing up getting exposed to all this great homemade music that was all over the map. From lo fi bedroom pop, indie rock, folk, experimental-Shrimper always showcased a wide variety of genres on their compilations, yet there was always a sense of unification in the over all presentation. Well at least to my ears and eyes. This comp crams nine artists all on one 7 inch with something for everyone. There are wonderful tracks from Franklin Bruno and Refrigerator as well probably my favorite Wckr Spgt track as well. There is a really strange Sentridoh tune as well that is nowhere near Lou Barlow's finest hour but for for die hard Barlow fans it certainly provides itself as a interesting curiosity in his discography. If you are not familiar with the legendary Shrimper label, they were/are best known for releasing tons of cassettes throughout the course of the 90s. When people talk about the lo fi home taping explosion of that era this is the label that is primarily responsible for influencing a lot of that. However, through the years they started releasing vinyl as well as cds. Ghost of a Rollercoaster gives a pretty idea of what the Shrimper "sound" was all about.

v/a Ghost of a Rollercoaster track listing
1. Halo "L Wheel"
2. Refrigerator "Map to the Stars"
3. Shoeface "I Hate the Government"
4. Franklin Bruno "Lifetime Seance"
5. Satnam Puppets "Guitar in Room P. 7"
6. Wckr Spgt "Fluffy Cat"
7. Guffey "Creepy"
8. Sentridoh "Me and My Arrow"
9. Jim Bishop "O 5"

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Franklin Bruno "A Sand Dollar Relief Map" 7 inch (Shrimper Records/1995)

Shame on me for taking so long to post a release from my favorite label, Shrimper Records. This label inspired me so much growing up and still continues to inspire me in how I approach doing my own label. Fear not, I will be certainly be sharing some more Shrimper gems in this space shortly. Today's upload comes from none other than prolific indie pop song- smith, Franklin Bruno. In addition to churning out records with his indie rock/power pop band Nothing Painted Blue, Bruno was consistent with releasing singles, full lengths tapes (later cds) and compilation appearances with his wonderful solo music. Franklin Bruno with a doubt gives John Darnielle a run for his money as the best American born song writer to come from this era. Quite honestly I do think that Bruno's work in the 90s far outshines the early Mountain Goats stuff. But it is all a matter of opinion I suppose. All that matters is that Bruno pens fantastic bedroom pop/folk music that has catchy melodies and is filled with really well written, smart lyrics. If you dig the Mountain Goats and have never listened to Franklin Bruno's music you  are doing your ears a disservice. Need further convincing-Bruno has played on a few Mountain Goats records and even done a project with Darnielle called The Extra Glenns. Check it out.

Franklin Bruno A Sand Dollar Relief Map 7 inch track listing
1. News From Cupid
2. The 101st
3. No 119
4. Pointless Triangle
5. Coupon

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Nothing Painted Blue/Refrigerator "split-Nipple Hardness Factor #8" 7 inch (Misha Records/1995)

Ahhhh, the good old days of zines coming with 7 inch records how I miss you. It was so awesome to read a kick ass zine and have a nice vinyl record or flexi to throw on your turntable at the same time. Nipple Hardness Factor was a zine in the mid 90s that did record reviews, interviews and also published play lists from college radio stations around the country so you could get an idea of what people were listening to. Remember this was years before electronically shared play lists Last FM or Spotify.  Radio play lists from college radio stations, who were bar none the taste makers in underground music in the 1980s and 1990s, were shared to let people know what the pulse was like across the country. It was how you found out about new bands.

So each issue of Nipple Hardness Factor came with a 7 inch and would feature interviews with the two bands who were on the record. In issue number 8 the two bands featured were Nothing Painted Blue and Refrigerator, two bands generally associated with the Shrimper Records label and scene of bands. Nothing Painted Blue started out in the late 80s and was a indie rock/power pop band fronted by none other than Franklin Bruno- a man who most say "who?", but to those in the know recognize Bruno as one of the most prolific and brilliant song writers of the 90s indie rock movement. Aside from fronting Nothing Painted Blue, Bruno has had a storied solo career releasing several albums and singles throughout the 90s. He is also known for his guest appearances on Mountain Goats albums in recent years as well as his collaboration with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats called The Extra Glenns.  Bruno is currently a visiting professor in philosophy at Bard College

Refrigerator is a band who I have shared here previously and once again they are generally known as the Shrimper Records flagship band as they were headed up the Callaci brothers, Dennis and Allen. Dennis is the owner and operator of Shrimper Records. Refrigerator play disjointed yet somehow catchy indie rock that is a cross between between Half Japanese, Red Krayola and WCKR SPGT. If you missed the upload of their Louder Than Goodbye 7 inch be sure to download that.

Nothing Painted Blue/Refrigerator split track listing
1. Nothing Painted Blue "Anti Nomination"
2. Refrigerator "Signal"
3. Refrigerator "Adoby and Jim"
4. Refrigerator "Spooky"

Download Here