“What happens when your taste is real but your world is fake? When your longing is legit but channels for expression have been defanged and sanitized?

RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE is a novel built from the recorded cassette tape monologues of Anderson Humphrey, a music obsessive and aspiring snob known curiously as The Christian Humper in a vast but isolated underground scene in the 1990s. The stories are oral but recall zine culture at its photocopied peak, when music was still a total identity machine.

A chance encounter with a wildly unsuccessful punk band and a newfound zeal for life beyond church camp lead The Humper and his friends on a chase for selfhood, status, and cool inside a world designed to stifle all three.

Andy’s tapes are a vulgar comedy of compromise peppered with micro-economies, status games, moral codes, humiliations, delusions, and little bursts of joy as he and the band attempt to cover up their scarlet letter and avoid paying the Christian Rock tax.

For the three years he records, Andy’s dispatches are conversational, breezy, and funny, but the jokes belie the depth of The Humper’s project as he wrestles with doubt, shame, and embarrassment while seeking adventure, autonomy, and validation.”

Our musical lives also include Jars of Clay, The Choir, White Heart, The Imperials, and The Eaglemaniacs, as well as work with Sixpence None the Richer and the music of the television series The Chosen.

We came to this band from different musical paths, different histories, instincts and experiences. Some of us had worked together before, while others were getting to know one another for the first time. What brought us together was the chance to write songs, follow a few ideas and see where the music might lead. Before long, the collaboration began to feel like a band.

We found an easy camaraderie in the studio. Songs began taking shape. The more we made music together, the more excited we got about this album.

That fellowship became an important part of the record. It shaped the way we wrote, played, listened and encouraged one another. We each brought our own musical history to the table, but the sound of The River Cryers came from what happened when those experiences met.

No one was asking for this band.

We made it anyway, and we are glad we did.

The music of The River Cryers draws from jangly guitar-based rock and roll, folk, Americana and harmony-rich pop.

You may hear traces of Tom Petty, the Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Traveling Wilburys, Fleetwood Mac, and the musical traditions that have shaped each member over the years. But as the songs develop, they are taking on a character and sound all their own.

Now we are inviting you to help us carry our debut album across the finish line and release it on vinyl, CD and digital.”

And to tell me what your favourite song is and why.

UN-POP Music is a full album with new Bram Cools songs (and some old ones that are reworked), in a lot of different styles. Some of it is weird, some of it is angry at evil and abuse, some of it tries to find new musical styles or a better world…And then the melodica takes revenge!

But I can say what I want, the only way to find out how it sounds is to listen to it yourself… UN-POP Music on BandCamp (All composition, recording, instruments, vocals, programming and noise by Bram this time.)

Peace

Bram”

The cover art you see is deeply personal — it features a special painting that was created for us at the beginning of our marriage by our friend, Marc Ludena. It has sat safely with us all these years, waiting for the right moment, and it finally found its perfect home as the face of this album. Because my music leans into that nostalgic, vintage style, having these songs live on a physical, tangible CD wrapped in this meaningful artwork feels good.

Most of these tracks have only ever lived digitally, and only three are currently on major streaming platforms. I wanted to give you a quick peek at the stories behind the track list:

• The “Old”: “Say I Do” and “How Lucky Am I” from my very first solo EP back in 2012. I have completely re-mixed them so they sound better than ever.
• The “New”: A brand new song called “If I Could Do It Over,” which I recorded using a beautiful, weathered 1930s parlor guitar that was a special gift from my son.
• The “Borrowed”: A song written by a dear friend called “I Love The Way You Love Me,” alongside a cover of Christine McVie’s “Songbird,” deeply inspired by Eva Cassidy’s version.
• The “Blue”: A lonely, vulnerable track called “I Just Want To Be Loved.”
• The Celebration: To close out the album, I included “You Didn’t Have To”—a light, upbeat tune celebrating the beauty of unconditional love.

Because I rarely manufacture physical CDs, the copies of this collection are highly limited.

The digital and physical release drops for Bandcamp Friday — meaning 100% of your support goes directly toward helping me keep making music. (Of course, if you miss a Bandcamp Friday, you can still purchase my music there any day of the year. Click the music tab on my page to see everything.)

Thank you for listening, for supporting independent music, and for being a part of this journey with me. (And even if you don’t choose to buy a copy right now, you can still follow me on Bandcamp by creating a free account. You can also stream our songs several times for free and discover lots of other great independent music there.)

With so much gratitude, Michelle

Here’s the links

https://theblamedofficial.bandcamp.com/album/rumors-are-true-family-benifit

https://theblamedband.com/album/4086285/rumors-are-true-family-benifit

Here is the link to the episode that featured me, in case you’re really bored

https://www.therumorsaretruecast.com/bryan-gray-the-blamed-left-out-mortal-six-feet-deep-the-satire/“

So if you are a collector we have collaborated with Thumper Punk Records and here are two variants of the CD, ours is a double sided sleeve with short essays and pictures inside, I did some fun deep cuts with the artwork, but you’ll need your readers to see it, haha. The Thumper Punk Records CD is a Kunaki version with a slightly different inside panel. This is super fun.

(The version on The Blamed’s website appears to be sold out, but the Thumper Punk version is still available)

We also did a limited edition run of shirts.

We had fun making these songs with our friends, if you have been following our What if… videos on social media you’ll see this, fun fact the bridge guitar part in “Mindbender” is played by Greg Minier from The Crucified and Applehead, it’s so cool hearing him, the solo was played by Rocky Gray from Living Sacrifice, Rocky said how much he always loved this song, and some gang vocals by Greg, Mike, and Paul from Teeth For Eyes, so cool.

Anyways, as always thanks for listening, happy shopping to the collectors, and we know times are tough and we definitely don’t care about money, this will be streaming and will be available for free on the Thumper Punk Records BandCamp soon, we love your support, but more importantly we love y’all

It’s a Crucified party and y’all are invited

Bryan”

If you were actively involved in church and then left later in life, I think you would love this record. Or if you are deconstructing or just have a lot of questions during all of *shrugs looking around* THIS, then you might also enjoy this record.

And I’d love to answer any questions about Pushstart or my deconstruction.”

“Thank you for your interest in Powderhead—the album that nearly wasn’t. As some of you know, my Nashville home burned during the great ice storm holocaust of early 2026. Among the critical belongings saved from the flames were the master recordings that are now Powderhead. A few of these songs were born in dark times. And back in January, clouds turned to smoke bent on keeping them quiet. But, thanks to Nashville’s firefighters, here they are in all their smokey glory.

Violent family blood, betrayal, murder, humor, and redemption . . .

all in the stew of Dave Perkins’ thorny epic of the unbleached South,

POWDERHEAD

Powderhead, the Southern backwoods homestead from Flannery O’Connor’s The Violent Bear It Away, is the stage from which the book’s actors explode into the imagination. Along with William Faulker’s Sanctuary, Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, and Celine’s Journey to the End of the Night, the gothic sensibilities of The Violent Bear It Away inspired the songs of this album. The result is a mélange of Southern Gothic sensibilities and emotions expressed in a first-person voice that is alternately uncomfortable and engaging.”

Here’s where you come in.

Every part of this campaign requires a collective effort. The goal is (and has always been) the highest quality product that we can put out. The best source material, the best mastering work, and the highest quality recordings that we can release. If we can’t make it the very best, then we’d prefer not to do it at all.

But we can and we will – with your help.

So, please look through the campaign items, choose the ones that speak to you the most, and proceed with the checkout. In anticipation of a successful campaign, we’ve already begun the process of mixing, artwork prep, and working with vendors. The plan is to get the album off to manufacturing before the campaign even concludes! Fingers-crossed.

We decided early on that we wanted to go back to the source recordings – the 2” reels themselves – and remix the album all over again. This isn’t about “fixing what was broken” – the goal is to remix as near to the 1996 version as possible – but rather to improve upon the original sonically, with greater energy, and to release those mixes onto high-resolution streaming, CD, and, of course, 180g premium vinyl. The result will be the best-sounding version of A Picture of the Eighth Wonder that we’ve ever had – and every order for the 8th Wonder CD or Vinyl will also receive a digital, downloadable copy of the album as well.

But wait… there’s more!

We are also giving everyone who orders the CD or Vinyl a digital, downloadable copy of the yet unreleased “live” audio from our Seattle show in September 2025. Aptly named At The Showbox, our complete Seattle set has been mixed and mastered for wide-release, but campaign backers who have purchased a CD or Vinyl will get the download first. How cool is that?

Is there a stretch goal? Absolutely. If we reach the $24,000 stretch goal, all backers who have purchased the 8th Wonder on CD or Vinyl will receive the At The Showbox album on CD and digital! Awesome.”

The first single is out today! It’s the title track, Lethal, and it’s available on all streaming platforms as well as BandCamp. The band is also releasing their first legit music video for the song which is now live on YouTube and below. More singles (and videos!) to come in the months ahead! That’s the cover, isn’t it fun?! :)

The physical pre-order for vinyl (available in green or orange eco-mix) and CD is now available. US only for now. If you live outside the US and are interested please reach out using this contact form. Vinyl and CD’s are expected to ship around the release date of September 18, 2026.”

In 1995 at Eastern Michigan University, two people made a record: Trey Many (drummer for 4AD’s His Name Is Alive) and Amon Krist (an art student and daughter of celebrated folk singer Jan Krist). Warren Defever recorded it, bringing the same atmospheric instincts that had made His Name Is Alive one of the most singular acts in the 4AD catalog. In 1996, Tooth & Nail released the result: Fall Sounds.

Comparisons were made to bands like Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, and Low, but were incomplete. Fall Sounds had something those records didn’t have, a folk-like earthiness beneath the shimmer. The songs move from the reverie of “Stare Into Light” through the gorgeous, sun-catching acoustic strum of “Evergreen,” to “Flourish,” the album’s most kinetic moment. The closer, “Dub Space,” runs over eight minutes of guitar fingerpicking and cymbal wash, landing like a long exhale.

The album lived for 30 years on CD and cassette, gathering a devoted following that described it in quiet superlatives, with an increasing demand for a vinyl release. In the fall of 2026, on the album’s 30th anniversary, the wait is over. This limited vinyl pressing was made in direct collaboration with Trey Many, who has gone on from Velour 100 to drum for Pedro the Lion, Starflyer 59 and Lo Tom. The album has been thoughtfully remixed by James McAlister (Sufjan Stevens, The National) and freshly remastered by Warren Defever himself, now a celebrated mastering engineer at Third Man in Detroit. Lacquers were cut by Lex van Coeverden in the Netherlands. A reimagned layout was provided by Jason71.

Pressed on Fall Sky Blue vinyl, while supplies last.”

Preorder from Burnt Toast Vinyl or Lost in Ohio now.

That’s Gordon Downie, sitting on my knee, on the cover. He’s a Tragically Hip cat.

This new album is also on Spotify, along with other And How albums, if that’s what turns your gears.

Feel free to send a note, as it’s always fun to hear from you.

Thanks again, and stay cool,

-And How”

The Grape Prophet is one of the most distinctive rock operas to emerge from the early ’90s alternative underground. Released in 1992 on Knott’s own Blonde Vinyl Records, the album follows Ellis, an orange picker sent by his boss Colonel Peckesen to rescue his fellow workers from the pull of a charismatic cult leader known as the Grape Prophet, a thinly veiled allegory for  events unfolding in the evangelical movement at the time. Dark, heavy, and almost uncomfortably earnest, it arrived just ahead of the grunge explosion and sounded like nothing else in Knott’s already eclectic catalog.

Lost in Ohio is proud to offer a very limited second pressing of the album, newly cut with clarity by Lex van Coeverden at The Vinyl Room. The artwork has been revised from the previous vinyl pressing to lean deeper into Knott’s stunning original paintings, and the record is pressed on Ellis Blue smash vinyl, a color drawn directly from the visual palette. The LP features the ten original album tracks, and includes a digital download of the full 2021 Deluxe Edition including its bonus acoustic recordings.

Pre-orders are live now, and shipping in July!“

Jetenderpaul’s The Woolen Spires has always been one of the favorite releases in the label’s history. This was originally a co-release with our good friends in Southern California, Velvet Blue Music. Now, so many years later, The Woolen Spires joins The Modal Lines on vinyl. Post-graduate indie pop, with influences ranging from Guided By Voices, The Apples In Stereo, Kleenex Girl Wonder, to Magnetic Fields. This was bedroom pop at its finest, recorded in bedrooms to a digital 8-track, beautifully lo-fi. On coke bottle green vinyl.

“Weird and wired without withholding the jams at the expense of some aloof artiness, The Woolen Spires is a mix-and-match, cut-and-paste affair of home recorded oddities and lo-fi rockers, the latter certain to get the toes tappin’ and the former serving to get the head a-scratchin’.  These are perfect pop songs forever gone astray once they leave the boys’ heads and become ensconced on the recorder.  Gems, all.”– Steve Brydges, The Copper Press

In the Summer of 2024, I went with Soporus to San Jose, Costa Rica. Soporus played two shows, the first with the excellent A su ladera and Carla Alforo. The second was the co-album release show for Adios Cometa (who have an excellent new record out from our friends at Steadfast Records) and Dylan Thomas. and Lentamente. I couldn’t get the songs out of my head and decided that these excellent shoegaze records should be pressed on vinyl.

Lentamente: Bienvenida. This album was originally released in October 2023, influenced by dream pop, post-punk, and shoegaze. The vinyl release has a single, “Sacré Coeur,” from 2024 added. I think you can hear some Cocteau Twins/ Robin Guthrie guitars and the catchy energy of The Radio Department. On strawberry milkshake vinyl in a first edition of 300 copies.

Dylan Thomas: Todo se desvanece. This album was released in the summer of 2024 and was influenced by Sonic Youth, Niños del Cerro, Whirr, Television, Smog, Women, King Krule, Rocketship, and Sparklehorse; as well as Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory and detective novels by Paco Ignacio Taibo II and Leonardo Padura. There was mayhem in the 500+ crowd when Dylan Thomas. took to the stage. I think this has a jangle pop feel similar to The Pains of Being Pure At Heart or Ducks Ltd. On transparent green vinyl in a first edition of 300 copies.

This is new territory for btv with two albums in Spanish, but the music is universal. There are a couple of package deals if you buy both Jetenderpaul albums or buy all three Spring 2026 releases. We’re awaiting the Blue Rider to help us through some special releases later this year to celebrate our anniversary and these three are essential to the celebration.”