Hamsterdam – Are You Mad At Me?

Are You Mad At Me? is a collection of demos from brand new band Hamsterdam (they’ve played 1 show). It’s 24-minutes of big guitars, relentlessly driving drums and emotive vocals. Listening back, you can pick up on how well these songs will translate live and flourish with a future pass at capturing them. “Downtown Sally” absolutely rips with a knowing sneer, “Round & Round (Pelican)” has a cheeky pop charm to it and “Maniacal” absolutely struts from start to finish. That said, the songs really reveal themselves when they let sincerity bubble to the surface. “Devil’s Hand” is a raucous explosion but, lyrically, it’s a confession of substance abuse. “Love to Give” provides sonic hints of Caustic Resin and Heatmiser but it seems to be an aggravated expression of unrequited affection. Closing track “Glossary Song” opens up the floodgates of vulnerability to maximum levels with a thick dose of nostalgic yearning, frustration and sweetness. It’s not the noise-y guitar outburst of the rest of the release but it hits the hardest.

Of course, context is key for any recording and there’s more to this one than just a batch of eight demos from a new band you haven’t heard of yet. Hamsterdam actually consists of some notable folks from the Nashville independent music scene. Let’s review:

• Vocalist and primary songwriter Joe Blankenship brought plenty of pleasure to the scene with Shoot the Mountain back in the early aughts.
• Bassist Bingham Barnes has been holding down the low end in Glossary, Jasmin Kaset Band and Electric Python for more years than I can count, not to mention his life’s work at Grand Palace screenprinting.
• Tyler Coppage plays drums with Black Bra, Chris Crofton and also Jasmin Kaset Band – not to mention a litany of bands that I’m not even aware of.
• Charlie Zaillian spent his formative years with Seattle’s Chung Antique and has contributed countless journalism pieces to Bandcamp, The Nashville Scene, Rolling Stone and loads more.

The recordings take on a different life when you listen back knowing that the musicians involved are reflecting lived experiences. Blankenship told me over email “The lyrics can be dark and the topics range from mysticism, reincarnation, heart break, nostalgia for times passed, black magic, serial killers, good and evil, substance abuse and addiction, and what it’s like to really lose your way, but hopefully finding your way back. ” That’s a journey that’s hard to come by without having gone down the rabbit hole and back out again. While I certainly don’t think Hamsterdam falls into a category of “tortured artists” – I do find an additional layer of appreciation for the energy of these songs knowing where it comes from.

Hamsterdam will play at The 5 Spot on November 9th with Outerworld and Nick Collins – possibly their second show ever? You can pick up the demos over on Bandcamp.