Release Date: December 12, 2015
Although the band name Bruised may conjure ideas of a death metal or a hardcore rock band, the Chicago group plays punk that’s not even just punk. Self-described as a “punk/dream pop/experimental rock/garage rock,” they released their third project entitled “Bruised Boys Never Die” and that genre description could not be more fitting.
Their punk roots are best heard on songs such as “Money” and “Prairie Style” with a lineup of your rock-based instruments, fast rhythms, and bellowing vocals. But the mixed genres appear in songs like “Caveman.” It starts off sounding like any other punk song with the fast tempos but after about 20 seconds a cacophony of dueling drums and guitar crescendos into a climax. A rock bassline then sets the pace along with audible lyrics and rhythms you can bob your head too without getting whiplash. But then you fall into the band’s trap: after a minute, they turn it up a notch and the cycle begins again. They use this form well throughout their six-song release.
Bruised formed in the winter of 2012. They’ve been around for only a handful of years, but they already they have put out three projects and a couple of singles — a feat some mainstream artists can’t attest to. In this day and age of self-releasing music, it’s easy to think making music is easier than before but the work still must be done. Bruised puts in the work and their recently released Bruised Boys Never Die showcases them reworking a classic genre.
As prolific as Bruised has been, they don’t sacrifice quality for quantity.
Bruised may have no desire to be put in one category and their music reflects it. With these six songs, they do not go beyond the three-minute mark. One even hardly clocks in over a minute and a half, and the yet the band fully displays their message. Some bands try to be unique purely for its own sake, but Bruised band sticks to a classic format while venturing further. This record may not sound as experimental as others in the DIY music world, but it indicates the band’s future.
Brusied “Bruised Boys Never Die” tracklist:
- Bleeding Grouse
- Cubist Sensation
- Caveman
- Money
- Prairie Style
- Haunt
