THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Acoustic can be urgent. It’s because of the words. Lyrics are the marvels that move you. The message is what resonates long after the beats dissipate.
On Underdog: Acoustic Sessions, the first-ever career-spanning milepost from Maryland reggae-rock vets Bumpin Uglies, band co-founder and singer-guitarist Brandon Hardesty revisits some of the band’s most solemn streets, from Suburbia and Locust Avenue to Self-loathing and City by the Bay. It’s shades of gray, it’s spinning plates, it’s catch and release and keep moving. It’s vitality, the pure essence of Bumpin Uglies. Full of passion and integrity, these are the anthems of a thinking man’s society. The land of the free. The home of the brave. These are the days we commemorate when the fire in the belly inflames, when you demand change. This is Ours. Don’t count out the Underdog.
“This is an anthem for authenticity,” offers Hardesty. “It’s for all the artists that choose to embrace their passion as a form of art, rather than a transactional medium. A celebration of the imperfections that make us beautiful.”
From the emotional umbrage of lead single Underdog to the lilting blue-collar confessional The Work, the bouncy ebullient self-awareness of Spinning Plates, and the tension-filled, fed-up verve of Loneliness in Ab, to the pandemic-fueled melancholy of Livestreams & Vaccines and album closer Jerry’s Song, a heartbreakingly moving tribute Brandon wrote in remembrance of his father who passed away in 2021, the new tunes find Hardesty digging even further into his core, rescuing himself from another crossroads while providing guidance for those still in the throes.
Underdog: Acoustic Sessions expands upon the band’s two Live at Sugarshack Sessions acoustic EPs, the latest of which featured a sparse passionate rendition of Jason Isbell’s Cover Me Up, which the former Drive-By Trucker championed with the social media comment “Lovely job!”
A lovely ride it’s been. For more than a decade, the Annapolis band, whose members include Dave “Wolfie” Wolf (bass, vocals), T.J. Haslett (drums), Ethan Lichtenberger (keys) and Will Lopez (tenor saxophone), have blended rock, hip hop, dub, reggae and punk into a refreshing blast of spacetime funk. The revered road warriors have toured constantly, starting with local open mics and backyard parties to ever-expanding audiences, festival slots and sold-out shows coast to coast.”
Watch my video interview with Brandon Hardesty HERE.
