Olympia's Some Velvet Sidewalk made a lot of noise between the years of 1987 and 1997. Founded by Al Larsen on vocals and guitar and the late Robert Christie on drums, the DIY band put out a bunch of lo-fi rock albums on K Records, at times recruiting associates like future Bikini Kill co-founders Tobi Vail and Billy Karren. Now, they're announcing Critters Encore, their first new album in 29 years.
Some Velvet Sidewalk's legacy looms large, from Kurt Cobain listing them in his journal as a band that he liked to Chat Pile's Raygun Busch citing their performance in the 1996 documentary Hype! as an influence. ("That's kind of what I wanted to do, and what I DO do in a way," Busch told the Nu Metal Agenda a few years back.). Chromatics founder Adam Miller's first band Pumpkin Patch was named after the Velvet Sidewalk's 1991 single. And just last fall their 1992 cut "Loch Ness" was used as diegetic music in the Ethan Hawke FX series The Lowdown, a few months after the reformed band played its first shows since the '90s. (They also just completed an East Coast run this week.)
The Critters Encore opening track and lead single "Don't Fuck With Your Luck" is here today, and it feels like a blast from the past, combining dissonant guitar with nursery rhyme. Listen below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Don't Fuck With Your Luck"
02 "Walking/Falling"
03 "So Be It Bro"
04 "Rabbits Running"
05 "Cat In A Bag"
06 "Howwling"
07 "Is Damaged"
08 "Snow"
09 "Critters Encore"
10 "Velvet Rabbit Portal"
11 "This Minute"
Critters Encore is out 6/26 via K/Perennial.
