by Colin Vallee (@colinjbeard)
The internet has proved one thing to be immensely true above all else: humans are innately creative, and they want to share their creations. Some people grow out of that creativity for whatever god forsaken reason (probably capitalism) but the lucky ones find the confidence to come back to their creative fancies late in life, and some never abandon them at all.
Bungler seems to be the latter. Described by the press release writer as “Paul Hewes - a super prolific and wacky songwriter out of Philly who somehow finds the time to release 3-4 albums a year while balancing his job and taking care of his two kids.” I personally find this anecdote incredibly inspiring. It’s easy to assume that as you grow older you need to grow out of your artistic pursuits and move on to more realistic things like stock markets and secretaries. However, the internet has done a great job at providing a longer life to musicians and artists who in the past would have just faded into the back rooms of empty bars in a cloud of cigarette smoke and “responsibilities.”
“Naps” is a single from Moon, the follow up to the recent The Sun Shines From Very Far Away. “Naps” begins with echoes of Modest Mouse with its slightly off kilter vocals, banjo and pinging guitar, but veers completely into the nonsensical melody realm of Jack Stauber in the second half of the short song.
The tracks beginning mantra, “They live inside their eggs eating all the donuts” is the kind of thing a child’s wild imagination comes up with when you ask them what they learned at school earlier that day. But I also suspect this is the song Hewes sings to himself when the anvil of boredom gets struck by the hammer of creativity.
“Naps” is a charming song that ultimately feels like it’s part of a whole, but it’s an appreciated glimpse into a deeply creative human’s personal life. Keep an eye out for the release of the full The Sun Shines From Very Far Away//Moon double cassette on February 24th on Super Wimpy Punch Records. The band celebrate the album’s release on the same night at Super Wimpy Punch HQ with Mavis the Dog, Slugqueen, Shormey, Danet Jackson, and Georgey V.