Next week local trio Basement Family welcome their first proper release (that is, their first that isn’t a demo tape). Their self-titled 12-inch EP comes out via the Maximum Pelt label, and today the Reader premieres an exclusive stream of it. Basement Family came together in 2014, after the demise of Bigcolour, the dreamy garage band of singer-guitarist Alex Auby and drummer Jeremy Lindemulder. They’ve since added bassist Joel Schafer and turned up the volume, blasting through a hybrid of stoner pop and garage rock as a blown-out, distortion-drenched power trio.
The band recorded the six songs on Basement Family live to two-inch tape at since-demolished studio Wall to Wall. The rawness of the performances shines through on the 12-inch—feedback radiates from the cranked amps throughout the loose, explosive tracks, which owe as much to trashy fuzz as they do to full-on pop, and Auby’s sugary, meandering vocals search for a secure footing in the chaos. Check out the glorious racket of Basement Family below.
Basement Family is officially out and available for purchase on Friday, July 1, and the band play a release show on Friday, July 22, at the Empty Bottle—Basement Family open for Swear Beam, who also have a record about to drop on Maximum Pelt.