St. Louis indie pop band Bunnygrunt will probably always be stuck with the 90s cuddlecore label, as much as they may hate it. The lovable duo Matt Harnish (guitars/vocals) and Karen Ried (drums/vocals) specialize in fun, disposable - and dare I say cute - punk rock, Bunnygrunt reliably delivers the ephemeral sound of what their label Happy Happy Birthday to Me describes as “the brief-lived Great Indie Pop Scare of the mid-1990s.” And you know what, this isn’t a bad thing. Bunnygrunt may be immortalized as an item in a list of bands that summarize a short-lived genre, but - to put it tautologically - their music will always have its place in history. Vol. 4 is the first release in five years (and the fourth since their revival in 2004), and with 16 tracks it’s a hodgepodge of songs that Bunnygrunt has been meaning to put out for a while. The first half of Vol. 4 is filled with to-the-point fun songs, while the second half is populated by covers and other odds and ends. This is the music of goofy, awkward kids who listened to T. Rex and Dinosaur Jr. growing up (because dinosaurs are so cool!!) This is music filled with coughs and asides of “Thanks, Mom!” and “You look pretty good in those pants.” This is music made by bands who have a tendency to use a lot of exclamation points in their song/album titles. In short, this is the music that Scott Pilgrim vs. the World characters probably listen to.
The first three songs of Vol. 4 are especially ephemeral: The intro “Gimme Five Bucks” sounds like the theme song of an indie pop cartoon, while “Just Like Old Times” and “Open My Eyes” are both less than two minutes but nonetheless extremely catchy fuzz pop. Surprisingly, though, next comes “Chunt Bump,” a seven-minute exploration of what would happen if Sonic Youth wasn’t so edgy. For the first minute Harnish makes for a pretty good Thurston Moore, and the next six minutes are a sprawling jam that ends with strings. There are so many random Bunnygrunt singles and splits out there that I can’t be certain, but I think this is their longest track yet. It’s a nice pause in the album - where you can sit back and appreciate the sonic scapes Bunnygrunt has in their back pocket - until you go back to their signature three-minute indie pop jams.
On “The Book That I Wrote” Harnish sings about being okay with nobody caring about said book, and on “I Quit, Mr. White” Ried sings a more angsty song that pushes them a bit away from that cuddlecore label. “Frankie Is A Killer” is a stand-out live recording, which sounds a bit like a bootlegged Talking Heads concert. And if the title doesn’t already say it all, “Still Chooglin’ (After All These Beers)” is another goofy indie-pop song to end the first half of Vol. 4.
The second half of Vol. 4 is full of random old recordings, which Bunnygrunt probably tacked on with a last-second “Fuck it, why not?” The first two songs, “Young Abe Lincoln” and “He’s About A Leaver” are from their EP Lady, You Just Got Von Damaged!; “1000 Percent Not Creepy” and “Where Eagles Dare, Pt. 2” (an acoustic cover of fellow St. Louis band Doom Town) are from their previous release Matt Harnish & Other Delights; “Tonight You Belong To Me” is a cute ukulele cover of an old folk song, whose style is reminiscent of The Velvet Underground’s “After Hours;” “Led It Out” is from a random split put out by Pancake Productions; “Carmelita” is a cover of the Warren Zevon song; and “Don’t Forget Who Your Friends Are” is a previous release and probably the cutest and most-Scott-Pilgrim-esque song on the whole album.
Vol. 4 is definitely a listen for anyone who wants to delve further into the depths of indie-pop history, and sure, it’s a fun listen for just about everyone. Not many of the songs are all that memorable, but fuck it, who cares?? After all these years Bunnygrunt is just having a good time - listen to Vol. 4 and you will too.
The first three songs of Vol. 4 are especially ephemeral: The intro “Gimme Five Bucks” sounds like the theme song of an indie pop cartoon, while “Just Like Old Times” and “Open My Eyes” are both less than two minutes but nonetheless extremely catchy fuzz pop. Surprisingly, though, next comes “Chunt Bump,” a seven-minute exploration of what would happen if Sonic Youth wasn’t so edgy. For the first minute Harnish makes for a pretty good Thurston Moore, and the next six minutes are a sprawling jam that ends with strings. There are so many random Bunnygrunt singles and splits out there that I can’t be certain, but I think this is their longest track yet. It’s a nice pause in the album - where you can sit back and appreciate the sonic scapes Bunnygrunt has in their back pocket - until you go back to their signature three-minute indie pop jams.
On “The Book That I Wrote” Harnish sings about being okay with nobody caring about said book, and on “I Quit, Mr. White” Ried sings a more angsty song that pushes them a bit away from that cuddlecore label. “Frankie Is A Killer” is a stand-out live recording, which sounds a bit like a bootlegged Talking Heads concert. And if the title doesn’t already say it all, “Still Chooglin’ (After All These Beers)” is another goofy indie-pop song to end the first half of Vol. 4.
The second half of Vol. 4 is full of random old recordings, which Bunnygrunt probably tacked on with a last-second “Fuck it, why not?” The first two songs, “Young Abe Lincoln” and “He’s About A Leaver” are from their EP Lady, You Just Got Von Damaged!; “1000 Percent Not Creepy” and “Where Eagles Dare, Pt. 2” (an acoustic cover of fellow St. Louis band Doom Town) are from their previous release Matt Harnish & Other Delights; “Tonight You Belong To Me” is a cute ukulele cover of an old folk song, whose style is reminiscent of The Velvet Underground’s “After Hours;” “Led It Out” is from a random split put out by Pancake Productions; “Carmelita” is a cover of the Warren Zevon song; and “Don’t Forget Who Your Friends Are” is a previous release and probably the cutest and most-Scott-Pilgrim-esque song on the whole album.
Vol. 4 is definitely a listen for anyone who wants to delve further into the depths of indie-pop history, and sure, it’s a fun listen for just about everyone. Not many of the songs are all that memorable, but fuck it, who cares?? After all these years Bunnygrunt is just having a good time - listen to Vol. 4 and you will too.
