BROTHER OF MONDAY - HUMDINGER
A fresh dash OF LO-FI
Release date: 28 June 2024
Available through Bandcamp, Spotify or any of your favourite streaming services
CREDITS
Nathan Henry - bass on “Hunting Redemption”
Kit Bothum - backup vocals on “Kitteridge Farms” and “Sixto”
Ken Persing - guitar on “Every Circle Can Have Two Centers”

Mastered by Todd Tobias.
Artwork by Lauren Bothum and Joep.

Artwork by Lauren Bothum

ABOUT HUMDINGER
The first Brother of Monday album was recorded under the assumption that no one would ever hear it. 
But on “Humdinger” (due out on Wilbur & Moore Records on June 28, 2024) it’s clear from the jump that Brother of Monday realizes he’s no longer singing to the four walls of his Newark basement-studio. Instead of the chilled-out acoustic “Bro Out” we get the roaring “Bro Inn” to kick off “Humdinger” as a preview to what awaits: guitar recorded on cell phone fed into a four-track and augmented with bass and electric guitar; vocals doubled with the use of a hand-held tape recorder; and “drums” played on a piece of Tupperware covering a microphone. 
You can like it, or you can not like it – either way, Brother of Monday delivers on his promise of a “Humdinger”: i.e., “a striking or extraordinary person or thing.”

“Writing and recording the first album felt freeing because there were no expectations. I was doing it for myself and didn’t give much of a thought as to whether people would hear it, or what anyone would think about it if they did. On ‘Humdinger’ I knew at least a few people would be hearing it, so I not only went back to that mindset but took it a step further: I decided to not care what anyone thought. I can’t care, or else the music won’t be authentic. On the first album, it was, ‘this is what I’ve got right now, I’m just putting it out there.’ Here, it’s: ‘I’m ripping this thing open, here’s everything that’s in there, I have no control over what comes out, so get ready for one humdinger of a ride.”
That sense of unpredictability starts with the wild finish to “Bro Inn” and continues on the first single, “Hunting Redemption.” The ultra-catchy alt-pop cupcake bounces along with guest bassist Nathan Henry’s playful plucks but slowly ditches its hooks and goes dark – one acoustic guitar gets fuzzed up and the vocals shift into echo mode for a foreboding invitation: “If you light the fire I’ll tell you where it goes/ If you know the way I’ll show you why it hurts.”
Where it goes is everywhere – a musical and thematic rollercoaster clinging to the tracks with the help of Todd Tobias (Guided By Voices, Robert Pollard), who lent his mastering wizardry to the 12 songs.

The ramshackle “Kitteridge Farms” catalogs the studio environs of Brother of Monday with a jangle rock romp augmented by a guitar solo straight out of GBV’s “Box” era and backup vocals from its namesake, Kit Bothum. Kit returns for act two on “Sixto,” an aching, piano-led examination of love left on the table.
The emergence of Spotify led many artists to ditch the idea of the album as an artform. For Brother of Monday, there is no other way – the songs on “Humdinger” fit together in a carefully curated sequence that is perfect for the tape format through which it is available. The soothing fade-out of “Sixto” is jolted awake by “Book of Buck” with a shot of sonic adrenaline. The delicate title track provides the perfect bookend to a “Side A” that sees Brother of Monday and his guests plugging right into the ol’ Tascam 4-track for a classic lo-fi session.
“Side B” shifts into another gear, deploying live drums and big guitars to send “Humdinger” hurtling toward the finish with the pedal stomped into the floor. Ken Persing, the first person to ever make music with Brother of Monday, proves that you can get there from here by providing a heavy dose of guitar muscle to “Every Circle Can Have Two Centers” – a tip of the cap to both R.E.M. and the late Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett.
“Ken’s appearance was much like the other two guests, Nathan and Kit. It felt like they had to be on the album. All three have played major roles in my musical career. Ken was there at the very beginning. Nathan and I jammed a lot and he was a part of my first musical project. They both made the album through pure serendipity – they just so happened to be near the 4-track when I needed the parts. Kit lives here, so I can and did grab them whenever I wanted. Ha. Not physically present but very present in influence and inspiration is my bandmate in Von Hayes. Although Brother of Monday is still a solo project, this was very much a group effort.
Appropriately enough, “Humdinger” ends with two tracks that make a hard turn off the usual road where Brother of Monday drives. “Buddy Crunch” sets up a massive wall of guitar, bass and booming drums that stretches the confines of what a 4-track machine can produce and then knocks it down in spectacular fashion. “Web” sticks the landing with a eulogy – the song features an organ track recorded in 2017 overlaid with a thick layer of Brother of Monday’s guts.

“Humdinger” was intentionally sequenced in a manner that by the time the trance-like melding of the organ and three-pronged guitar solo has burned out the listener wants to flip back to the first side for another ride.
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