Most dance rock bands sound like garage rockers dry humping Nintendos…and at the core, Baumer is really no different. The band is set to re-release Come On, Feel It through their new indie, Eyeball Records on Sept 12. Although originally released a year ago, their new home, for some reason, puts the album into perspective, sounding less like a humped Nintendo and more like a very original band. Eyeball has been the launching pad for very significant artists like My Chemical Romance, Thursday, Midtown, Sleep Station and many more. Eyeball has an ear for relevance and Baumer is no exception.

In recent years, mainstream alternative has seen a large influx of dance-rock. The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Sounds, Kill Hannah and others have all taken a stab at the format, combining 80s influenced synth beats with an indie garage rock vibe. Although the genre is occupied, Baumer are perfectly at home and bring their own flavor to the style. Their blend of campy, comical synth with thoughtful, compelling lyrics force the listener to take this band seriously…but not too seriously.

Come On, Feel It shoots out of the gate swinging with How The West 1, a pop-tastic synth spectacular with a vocal performance that inspires the instant revelation that Baumer is something you haven’t heard before. Throughout the album, Nate Boykin’s voice eminates a smooth sex appeal more commonly found among old school crooners, but injects just enough grit to remain attainable. The ballsy guitars of Kenny McWilliams saturate the otherwise beautiful songs in testosterone, allowing the tracks to have mass appeal. From the album’s opener to the title track to the 8-bit instrumental ‘Baumer vs. The Red Baron,’ to the chilled out groove of the album’s closer ‘Exceptional Affair,’ this album doesn’t miss a beat, save the song ‘Denouement’ which contains such a brilliant chorus the verses seem almost unworthy of it.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect like a movie scene. Love is almost always accidental.”

In a time when we have so many options when it comes to music, it can become difficult to find the real gems. With the bombardment of cookie-cutters, it is easy to write off a particular genre as being this or that, ignoring any new entrants into the race. Forget what you know and what you think you know about dance rock and check out Baumer. If you can’t be bothered to listen to a whole album, then just listen to the song ‘Take What’s Mine.’ I guarantee it won’t be the only song you listen to from the album. ‘Come On, Feel It’ is a timely album, landing just as the dance rock genre is establishing its place in music, but if I were to rank the genre’s current members from best to worst, no doubt Baumer would be near the top. The future relevance of this band has yet to be determined, but if past label alumni are any indication, this latest member of the Eyeball family has limitless potential.


Listen to the entire album on Altsounds.fm
Check out Baumer's profile on Altsounds!