Bomb the Music Industry! to Release Fifth Album

After releasing four LPs in three years, Jeff Rosenstock, lead singer/songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist/recorder/mixer/producer/figurehead of Bomb the Music Industry!, finally took a year off.

Now in 2009, he plans to release the ska-punk band's fifth album, Scrambles. According to the band's Myspace, the album could be out as soon as January 7th (although the record label Quote Unquote says January 22nd), and it will be considerably different from Rosenstock's previous material. According to demos released, the band's sound will not change entirely, but Scrambles will certainly be an interesting release from this DIY punk collective.

Scrambles: “Not Much Punk, Not Much Ska”

Bomb the Music Industry! planning a new album was announced earlier last year via a blog announcement through Rosenstock. The art for Srambles has been released as well as its title and tracklist, but he also gave a few hints about the nature of the album.

Scrambles will probably feature more piano and less synthesized effects. Rosenstock even introduced the album by saying “lots of piano. Lots and lots of it. Not much punk, not much ska so might as well stop listening?”

The nature of the album stopped being speculative when the band put demos of a few Scrambles songs on their Myspace page. The songs, including “Cold Chillin Cold Chillin”, “Wednesday Night Drinkball”, and “9/11 Fever”, confirmed Rosenstock's announcement and gave fans a look at the upcoming album.

While the nature of the songs seemed to have changed, Rosenstock's themes remain the same. He sings about drinking, being in a band, and unemployment like usual, just over heavy piano instead of guitar. He even includes handclaps and a singalong chorus “If you don't find a steady job now!” on “Fresh Attitude, Young Body”.

New Jeff Rosenstock Songs Self-Deprecating at the Piano

But unlike Bomb the Music Industry!'s most recent release, Get Warmer, Scrambles seems to be a more depressing album, hearkening back to the days of the band's debut. This fits the general nature of the album, whose title alludes to the scramble of Rosenstock and his peers/listeners to find careers, friends, and happiness. These themes are nothing new for the band, but the demos from Scrambles have insinuated a sense of urgency absent from their earlier material.

While the album may alienate fans of the band's ska/punk sound, those who enjoyed Rosenstock's keyboard medley will probably be right at home. Scrambles appears to be less synthesized and features more natural piano sounds. This is made evident on the released tracks, where there are multiple pianos present for almost every song. The album is also still fast and totes the DIY-punk ethic, so Rosenstock's influences are probably not too far gone.

According to Bomb the Music Industry's Myspace page, Scrambles will be available January 7th on Quote Unquote records, and it will be "about 68% as good as the last Defiance, Ohio record."