Bughummer

Bughummer was an indie rock/post-punk outfit that existed in the Savannah, Georgia scene from 1992 to 1998. Their five-and-a-half-year run culminated in this, their first and only full-length, The Getaway With. The final lineup featured guitarist Jonathan Proctor, drummer Brian Lackey, and bassist Keeley Davis (now of Engine Down). Apparently this is a proper re-release of its original 1998 pressing, which was at the time self-released by the band.

Regardless, the band plays a style that makes a lot of sense considering Davis's presence. Though the band certainly carries post-punk shades that seem to give as much to bands like the Ghost as it does take from bands like Fugazi, the combination of their interlapping, melodic-but-sorta-dissonant vocals with the melancholic vibes of the instrumental work, involving slow-crawling chord movement and meticulous percussion, really seems to parallel the nature of softer screamo bands later on in the decade, again, making a lot of sense considering the early days of Engine Down were Davis's next endeavor. Though the high-pitched octaves are traded in favor of low-end, bass-heavy, relatively more sonic manipulation, the comparison is easily noticable, especially when screams ring in the background of "Mood Swing." It's hard to tell who does the main singing parts, but he somewhat resembles Jeremy Enigk on the moderately harsher parts of Diary.

Early on, especially in the shortest track, "Fashion, Cocaine," which opens the disc, the band really seems to rely more on the aforementioned dual vocal approach than it does its seemingly trademark procession of introducing the track with a verse and then slowly building it with its - again, abovementioned - orchestrations, but really seems to take the second half of the album and revolve a lot of it (save for "Rocket Scene") around these instrumentals. Though they never really go towards one given spot, it's not quite senseless noodling, and it really just seems to fit in well with the more strained-melodic vocal takes.

Though nothing revolutionary or historic, The Getaway With is certainly worth a listen, especially for fans interested in Davis's earlier work.