Bummer Vacation

What's so good?
Greek music blog Sound Injections turned me on to this Texas-based quartet called Bummer Vacation. My first thought was that's a great band name. My second thought was that "Silver Hands" is a rock song worth sharing.

Blending elements of post-punk, shoegaze, and dream pop, Bummer Vacation present a sound that is both familiar and refreshing. - Indie Shuffle

Bummer Vacation, besides having a pretty rad name, are a self-proclaimed shoe-gaze punk wave band from Fort Worth. They put out their debut album last summer, but now they’re back with this single, “Silver Hands.” What I really appreciate about this track are the little details that this band has incorporated; they’ve got a traditional punk-wave sound with twangy guitars and plenty of reverb on the vocals, but these guitar licks are super sharp and the percussion feels light and airy. There’s no such thing as too much shoe-gaze music. Enjoy. - Austin Town Hall

Fort Worth’s Bummer Vacation sounds like the soundtrack to the early days of THRWD Magazine, when we were a bunch of young punks putting together zine of love and hate, living off American Spirits and Slurpees. Which is why we’re extra pumped to be premiering Bummer Vacation’s newest single, “Silver Hands” recorded with Jordan Richadson, better known as Son of Stan, at Electric Barryland in Justin, Texas. Enjoy! - THRWD

It hadn’t been a full five months since Wolf Alice had last been in Dallas, a show I regrettably missed as I was out of town. I heard tale of what an amazing night it was, though, I believe selling out the venue they played then. In that near five month span, the London-based rock outfit has released their debut LP, My Love is Cool (out on RCA Records here in the U.S.); and after seeing they would be coming back to Dallas on their My Love is Cool Tour, well, I had no intention of missing them again.

They had moved up to the legendary Trees, a venue much more spacious than the one they had performed at earlier in the year. A little more than a hundred people were already in there by the time Bummer Vacation opened up the show around nine.

The local act was surely new to many, and after hearing many good things about them for the past year or so, it was nice to actually see what they were like. They were similar enough in sound to appeal to all those who had come to support Wolf Alice, Bummer Vacation growing stronger with each song, the mood only intensifying as they churned out some powerful tracks, and all with a drummer who had learned these songs in a mere three rehearsals. They all felt and appeared to be much more cohesive than that short time together would suggest.

They were comical as well, from asking one guy who was thoroughly enjoying their music to give them a good review on Yelp to mentioning that after the show they’d be “somewhere, doing something… probably not illegal.” They were a fine act to get everyone in the rock spirit. - Music Enthsusiast

“Aye Mas Tiempo Que Vida” gets all the time in the world you could want from life, squeezing the juice from the world’s proverbial lemons. The thrashing delivery of discord found on the title track opener becomes refined on “Mas Tiempo”, where romantic inklings take over like a rogue wave grabbing the hapless heart out to the deep blue sea. Bummer Vacation’s expressive guitars carry on through songs like “Candor”, forever toying with incidental background noises and effects heard in full blast on the experimental “Logan Int’l 5:47 AM”, the home bound bummer days of “Bummer Condo”, to the Canadian competitive indie humor of “-11 in Montreal, But Who’s Keeping Score?”. Effects and ephemeral energy that exhibits dreamier sides of Fort Worth (also the home of dream pop headquarters imprint, Saint Marie Records) in the art of becoming undone on “Unglued”, or the creative ultra-pop patterns that recall the Cosby film classic on “Ghost Dad” and “Ghost Dad Goes to Church”. A group and album not to be missed, Bummer Vacation’s Paul, Ryan, Ricky, and Tyler join us after the following listen to “Aye Mas Tiempo Que Vida” - Impose Magazine

The latest Mood Of The Week is “Silver Hands” by the sweet boys of Bummer Vacation from Fort Worth, Texas. They’ve been working hard for a while, touring, coming out with singles, and playing a good amount of shows. As a group, you could say they are vaguely fresh to the local music scene, but doing incredibly well none the less. In 2014, they released their debut album “Creative Differences” which drew in everyone’s attention. Including Central Track, Impose Magazine, Lo-Life recording and a session with Daytrotter.

Bummer Vacation is the band that no one in DFW knew that they needed, but did. This almost nostalgic for some, Shoe-gaze punk-wave sound has brought in another quality to our rapidly growing music scene. Our favorite part of Bummer Vacation is how much variety their sound is, but still remains honest and true to who they are as a group.

In some songs, they build with a really dreamy guitar then pick up out of nowhere and you find yourself wanting to bounce around in the car. Like a bunch of kids being reckless making noise, but sound super rad doing it. 80′s-90′s grunge with still a modern touch that really, anyone could head bang or head bop too. Whichever you prefer. Stay tuned to see what else these dudes have to offer to please our ears, because they will. Do yourself a favor and be sure to catch them Live April 17th at Lola’s saloon in Fort Worth. And also in Dallas May 5th at Three Links. - THRWD

4.) Jordan Richardson is more than just Son of Stan. He’s also a Grammy-winning drummer (2013 for Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite’s Get Up!) and an in-demand producer. Working out of Barry Eaton’s studio in Justin, Richardson (Oil Boom, The Longshots, Skeleton Coast) deserves some props for Creative Differences. Even if the songs sucked, Bummer Vacation’s debut album would still be groundbreaking. Somehow frontman Paul Hernandez, guitarist/vocalist Ryan Torres-Reyes, bassist Tyler Moore, and drummer Ricky Williford manage to conjure up the ghosts of Joy Division, The Smiths, and The Cure without ripping them off completely and without any digitization. And not only do the songs not suck, they’re neatly structured, superbly performed, and hyper-melodic. In other words, they’re incredible. Based mostly on barreling beats and loud, echoing, chiming riffs of singly plucked notes, every track is densely layered organically, which really punches up the meaty melodies and overall catchiness. - Fort Worth Weekly

11. Bummer Vacation
Creative Differences
"Bummer Vacation's somewhat hard-to-pin-down sound bears some passing resemblance to Torres-Reyes' previous outfit, Skeleton Coast, in that it pair's together post-punk and glittery dream-pop in a moderately challenging but completely approachable manner. But the immaculately layered guitar work found on Bummer Vacation's debut eschews Skeleton Coast's neo-psychedelic leanings in favor of something more akin to The Smiths." -- CG - Central Track

The time may be right for Bummer Vacation. Vocalist/guitarist Paul Hernandez, vocalist/guitarist Ryan Torres-Reyes, bassist Tyler Moore, and drummer Ricky Williford hark back to Joy Division, The Smiths, and The Cure, producing a rich, densely layered, non-synthetic sound that’s fresh and distinct. And, boy, is it catchy. Bummer Vacation’s debut album, Creative Differences, surges with melodic vocal lines, propulsive rhythms, and simple yet effective riffs that bubble, soar, and chime.

“We were trying to get something going that sounded a little bit different,” said Moore, hanging out on the Near Southside at the new retail outlet Dreamy Life Records with Hernandez and Torres-Reyes, “even though the stuff we’re doing is not bananas.”

It may not be bananas, but it is incredibly, deceptively complex. Produced at Barry Eaton’s studio in Justin by Jordan Richardson, a.k.a. Son of Stan (The Longshots, Skeleton Coast, We’reWolves), Creative Differences is both intimate and expansive, introspective and welcoming. With nine tracks clocking in at just over 30 minutes and undeniably urgent, it is a quick listen. The quartet achieves a particular brand of accessible rock so dark and borderline nihilistic that the otherwise jovial term “pop” seems inappropriate and, frankly, offensive, like calling Ian Curtis a “rock star.” Bummer Vacation doesn’t seem to be interested in pleasing anyone. However, the hummable melodies, bright and shimmery guitar passages, and dynamic grooves betray that aloof posture.

Creative Differences is about disconnection, miscommunication, and, well, creative differences. Though the readily apparent influences may imply tons of studio wizardry, every note on the album has a ragged punk edge. Not unsurprisingly. The Bummer Vacationers are steeped in punk. Moore and Williford currently play in Fort Worth’s War Party, and until he moved from Dallas to Fort Worth last year, Hernandez played bass in Dallas’ Sealion.

Why Fort Worth? “I was going through a lot of different things in Dallas,” Hernandez said, “just relationships ending and wanting to kind of do something different. … I moved to Fort Worth just because I already had friends out here,” including Moore, with whom Hernandez has been playing off and on for nearly two decades.

Even before landing in the Fort, the 29-year-old singer-songwriter also had a pretty solid idea of what Bummer Vacation was going to be. Along with Moore’s bands, Hernandez spent time in proto-punks Doom Ghost, and he was a big fan of Torres-Reyes, whose previous project, Skeleton Coast, disbanded over a year ago, making him available.

Bummer Vacation played its first gig in December, at The Where House. That same month, the group recorded three tracks at Dreamy Soundz in Fairmount to be able to make a single contribution to Group Therapy, Vol. 2, the second in an annual compilation series by Dreamy Soundz Records and another Fort Worth label, Lo-Life Recordings. Bummer Vacation re-recorded its contribution, “Unglued,” with Richardson in May during the recording of Creative Differences. Where the original version is heavy and bombastic, the new one is clean, crisp, and relatively subdued, underlining the band’s decision to go with Richardson as producer.

“Even though we’re all tied into the lo-fi world –– we like Dreamy Soundz and Lo-Life and all that –– we definitely wanted something that was going to be a little bit clearer quality,” Hernandez said. “We wanted to go that route, just to see how it would sound. I think we’re all pretty happy with it.”

The band and Richardson first met a few months earlier, a get-together initiated by Torres-Reyes, who fondly recalled his time with the producer on Skeleton Coast’s self-titled debut long-player.

“It was like a test drive,” Torres-Reyes said. “ ‘Why don’t you come out here and record one song, and we’ll see how it goes. We’ll discuss doing the rest of it later.’ ”

The band members were so pleased with the way the track, “-11 in Montreal, But Who’s Keeping Score,” turned out that they spent most of their time between February and May fine-tuning their work to get back into the studio.

“I was the only one who didn’t know [Richardson], but that day [in February], he and I became instantly super-close,” Hernandez said. “He’s one of my best friends, for sure, on the same level as these guys.”

Moore seconded the idea: “He’s like the fifth member.”

There are a few reasons why Richardson agreed to work with the band: “They are all very talented dudes from very awesome bands, and we shared similar influences and shared jokes before we even got started. Plus, I love working with new bands. Even though the dudes are seasoned, something about the excitement and urgency of new bands makes the cool surprises of the studio all that much better. We did it fast but maintained strict adherence to the rule of ‘no sound/tone alike.’ This band likes to be pushed and is open to trying anything. Like college.”

All of the Bummer Vacationers said they’ve never done anything like Creative Differences before. Moore recalled that one of his previous bands had only dabbled in loud New Wave. “We were influenced by that kind of stuff, but it was always a wet dream to be able to play it. … it’s something I’ve always wanted to do as a bass player because [The Cure’s] Simon Gallup and Peter Hook from Joy Division have been my biggest heroes as far as the bass goes.”

Hernandez points to one of his Sealion-era side projects, a duo with drummer Cordero Torrez called Royal Spirits, as a point of departure into Bummer Vacation: “We were doing surf-gazey stuff on top of electronic music … so I guess that’s kind of what got me writing in this vein.”

Richardson is equally happy with the results: “I’m super-excited about the finished product. [Hernandez] had great and thought-out demos, and I knew we could expand the already great song ideas into something pulsing and hot. A lot of the references were all on point and matching the sounds I was hearing in my head, a.k.a. The Cure in a barn. I think this band has a real shot of breaking out because they work hard, have a new but familiar sound, which is totally key, and, most importantly, they all put out very easily.”

Creative Differences will be released digitally this weekend and on cassette tape via Lo-Life and, by fall, on vinyl via Richardson’s label, WizardVision. Bummer Vacation would like to tour, but the members haven’t made any concrete plans yet. Moore and Williford are still fully committed to War Party, and, perhaps more pressingly, Hernandez is on the road most of the year as the merchandise coordinator for the peripatetic Reverend Horton Heat.

“That kind of tears into our schedule, but at the same time it doesn’t hurt us,” Hernandez said, adding that he and his bandmates are always sharing ideas. “We’ve all toured before, so it’s not like we’re trying to jump the gun or anything. We’ve been out there, so we know what it’s like to be in a van with three other dudes.” - Anthony Mariani

The first rule of Bummer Vacation is “you do not talk about Bummer Vacation;” the second rule of Bummer Vacation is “throw the rules out the window.” I first met Paul Hernandez at a Lola’s pre-tour extravaganza with War Party and his former band Sealion. Chatting between sets about glorious Chili Peppers[i], I pitched him an interview conducted while eating high-caliber capsaicin, which would undoubtedly devolve into mouth frothing and beer swilling.

Hearing that Paul was moving to Fort Worth’s Southside, curiosity spread about his next musical joint. Starting with track on Soundcloud, excitement grew, “I didn’t have anyone in mind to work with but Ryan.” Summer ‘13, he had songs written and approached Skeleton Coast Alum / brilliant raconteur, Ryan Torres-Reyes, for the heady collaboration, “Paul had some ideas, and we just worked through them. Bringing in Tyler and Ricky helped us realize them. We jammed from there and the writing become more democratic.”

Tyler Moore and Ricky Williford, high-functioning hooligan’s from War Party, bring enthusiasm to everything they do; there’s no doubt there’s development on a buddy cop script around the duo. Paul expands on their involvement, “It was quick, Tyler said he was down to play bass and same thing with Ricky, he said he’d never played drums in a band and always wanted to. I go way back with both of those guys.” Interest swelled when a studio shot of the quartet was posted online.

Creative Differences releases digitally Saturday (7.19)[ii] at Lola’s on an absurd lineup with Ice Eater, Cleanup and Austin’s Zorch, Ryan offers details, “We’ll be handing out cards with a download code, and people pay what they want. If you buy a T-shirt, you get a card. We just want to get it out there as quickly as possible.” Physical copies follow in September with WizardVizion pressing the vinyl later in the year.

They followed the peerless Jordan Richardson into Electric Barryland, “He’s insanely positive. He’ll joke around but he’s got no problem running back for 25 takes to get the sound right,” says Torres-Reyes, who also worked with The Man They Call Jorts twice in Skeleton Coast.

Coming out of the era of an alternate reality, captivating synthesizers deconstruct nicely agitated post-punk tension, jotted notes include phrases like “lushly Lo-fi,” this is a deep record boiling into different shades of dissatisfied pop music. Aye Mas Tiempo Que Vida pulls apart while defying gravity: floating, sinking and taking angular twists before diffusing into a melancholic haze.

Paul’s narcotic vocals pair beautifully with the layered dynamic energies for a delightfully paranoid edge. Ricky and Tyler form a pulsing rhythmic battery perforating the foaming chorus of voices, often inverting emotional vacuity with explosions from a mountain of gritty grooves. One must noted the high degree of difficulty involved in maintaining a solid groove while swimming in a dissonant squall.

Perhaps the thesis of the record, In Montreal, But Who’s Keeping Score is a twitchy body high that blossoms into “Unglued,” sculpted by the starry-eyed detritus of yesteryear’s junky punk.

Bummer Vacation shows are rare occasions for these busy gentlemen, this weekend has back-to-back showcases optimal for getting Bummed. Saturday’s Release Party at Lola’s and Sunday’s (7.20) Group Therapy Vol. 2 Release Extravaganza[iii] at The Where House. - Lyle Brooks

Yesterday, as part of our look into the most anticipated albums still set to come out of this region in the remaining months of 2014, we gave you a primer on the soon-to-be-released debut LP from Fort Worth upstarts Bummer Vacation.

Now, granted: The band's only played a handful of live shows to date. But its members share a long pedigree of performing: Vocalist/guitarist Paul Hernandez played bass with Sealion, vocalist/guitarist Ryan Torres-Reyes plied his craft with Skeleton Coast and the rhythm section, comprised of drummer Ricky Williford and Tyler Moore splits its time performing with War Party. So the talent's there. And, in the coming weeks, these talents will combine to release one of the better debut LPs you'll hear all year.

Pointedly calling the thing Creative Differences, Hernandez says the album's title has as much to do with the bands he and Torres-Reyes aren't currently playing with as it does the end of some other relationships in their personal lives.

"To us, more than any sort of negative connotation, it's a way we felt when we started seeing what this turned into," Hernandez says. "This band is unlike anything any of us have tried to do in the past -- in every sense possible."

That's true to an extent. Bummer Vacation's somewhat hard-to-pin-down sound bears some passing resemblance to Torres-Reyes' previous outfit, Skeleton Coast, in that it pair's together post-punk and glittery dream-pop in a moderately challenging but completely approachable manner. But the immaculately layered guitar work found on Bummer Vacation's debut eschews Skeleton Coast's neo-psychedelic leanings in favor of something more akin to The Smiths.

There's another similarity, though: Just as he produced Skeleton Coast's own stunning debut, area producer du jour Jordan "Son of Stan" Richardson produced Bummer Vacation's debut and helped the group really hone its sound in the studio.

"He was the perfect fit and partner for us," Hernandez says. "Both he and I understood exactly where we wanted to see this thing go and to have him say ideas he had that were already in my head just reassured me that he was definitely the right person. His energy, attention to detail and overall positive vibe made it easy on us. We loved it and so did he, so shortly after we began discussing doing the whole album with him. This album would not sound the way it does without him. He definitely allowed us to fully understand what we could do with this band in the studio. It was great energy and I feel like it carried over into the recordings. I can definitely say he is someone we will continue to work with in the future; he is an extension of what we have become."

Speaking of the band's future: Bummer Vacation will play a pair of digital album release shows for Creative Differences next weekend, with the first show coming Friday, July 18 at Three Links and the second going down on Saturday, July 19 at Lola's, where the band will open for Zorch. Physical copies, Hernandez says, will be available later this fall in the form of cassettes released by Fort Worth's Lo-Life Records, with vinyl versions coming on Richardson's own WIZARDVIZION imprint.

For now, though, you can get an exclusive first taste of Creative Differences in the form of the album's first single, "Bummer Condo," which the band has been kind enough to pass along as a free download to Central Track readers below.

It's a juicy first taste of an album full of tracks that are just as fit for pulling out some spastic, New Wave dance moves as it is for just vibing out to the array of effects pedals.

"We definitely found a great balance as far as having two guitars in a band," Hernandez says. "When we all started to get together, it instantly worked and felt natural. These guys are my brothers that I trust and want to be in a band with. [I don't have to say], 'Play this the way I wrote it because it's my song and my band.' We don't have time for that or want that vibe." - Cory Graves

This Texas based quartet brings back on surface the swirling guitars and furious pop agenda inside a flashy package that you simply can’t say no to! Bummer Vacations try with Silver Hands to place the noise next to pop and post punk next to indie and they do it big time! Raw, electrified and absolutely beautiful! - Sound Injections (Greece Music Blog)

As the well-worn saying goes, everything old is new again. For Fort Worth foursome Bummer Vacation, a deep and abiding fascination with the murky sonics of mid-’80s shoegaze rock ( My Bloody Valentine; Slowdive, et al) informs every cut on this nine-track, Jordan Richardson (aka Son of Stan)-produced debut. Its members — Paul Hernandez, Ryan Torres-Reyes, Tyler Moore and Ricky Williford — have roots in other, diverse projects with varying levels of activity (among them, War Party, Sealion and Skeleton Coast). But little of what’s come before is evident here. Instead, there’s a tight focus on atmosphere — Candor features some judicious distortion that would bring a smile to Kevin Shields’ face — and an indication by record’s end that Bummer Vacation may just be getting warmed up. - Preston Jones