The Key Studio Sessions: Mumblr

There’s a distinct feeling of raw energy on Full of Snakes, the debut LP from Philly fuzz-punk four-piece Mumblr. That’s the sound of a band that doesn’t overthink things when it’s recording, that doesn’t get lost in assembling its songs from pieces of pristine takes; it’s the sound of a band that kicks ass live first, makes great records second. These dudes make music with a heavy sonic debt to Weezer and Cap’n Jazz, centered around frontman Nick Morrison’s witty, wandering storytelling that is as honest as Mumblr’s records sound. He celebrates the aloof and inebriated wanderings of twentysomething Pennsylvanians in “Philadelphia,” both criticizing and embracing the city’s flaws (“there’s trash, but it’s ours”). On the other side of the coin, “Sober” is very self-effacing about the effects of those wanderings.

Both those songs were rocked out in our studio before Mumblr left for its fall tour, along with the rip-roaring anthem “Got It,” the impressionistic jam “2012” and an awesome cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe.” You can stream and download the session below, and watch a video of the Kendrick cover, and catch the band tonight at a homecoming Halloween house show; more information can be found here.