Basement Benders

Basement Benders EP (2015)

Keenan

Basement Benders contain members of many (many) bands, but the most notable are Future Virgins, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb and Cleveland Bound Death Sentence. If one was to draw a line between one of those bands to this new one, it would probably originate from This Bike is a Pipe Bomb. Take out the shambolic Plan-It-X folk punk sensibility and leave in the loose, sprightly numbers found on Dance Party With…, and you've got something close to resembling the four songs on this debut EP.

The sound of The Basement Benders resembles the output of No Idea Records circa the early/mid 2000s. They can be located somewhere between the shouting anthems spit out by Latterman, Bridge and Tunnel's emotional outbursts, and This is My Fist's grumbling punk. Basement Benders are split releasing this EP on Dead Broke Rekerds and Drunken Sailor Records, which makes sense, as the two labels undeniably carry the torch for bands stemming from and/or influenced by the classic No Idea bands.

The EP itself is split into two halves: the first contains male vocals with bouncy melodies and the second has female vocals and is way more despondent and morose in nature. The lyrics separate the songs to a further degree, as the first half contains lines spewed outward to an unnamed "you" while the lyrics of the second half are undeniably aimed inward, with lines about depression and suicide. Both sides have their own inherent catchiness, however, with the songs buoyed by energetic backup vocals and springy guitar work.

With an LP supposedly on the way, hopefully the band can unite these two sides a bit more and create a unified set of songs. As of right now, this EP is a great, easy listen with hooks that will stick in your head. However, it sounds like a split 7-inch between two bands with similar influences, but gravely different world views.