by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Sean Sprecher, better known as Bad History Month (or as a member of Fat History Month before that), has earned himself a reputation as one of Boston’s finest songwriters, blending tales of folk wisdom and embattled depression with humor and philosophy. For nearly thirteen years he’s been weaving his clever and thought provoking words together with the utmost profundity, first with Fat History Month (the legendary duo), then as Bad History Month (a solo project), which continues today as a full live band, with iterations based both in Boston and Philadelphia. While the recordings remain solo, the live show has taken a wildly new dynamic.
Following last year’s Death Takes A Holiday full length split with Nyxy Nyx, Bad History Month returns with Recycling Myself, a collection of two EPs, paired together on one cassette, due out June 25th via Julia’s War Recordings (Fib, Bleary Eyed, Feeble Little Horse). Side A is comprised of Recycling Myself, six brand new songs with lyrics pulled from the BHM/FHM back catalog, reimagining the tracks in different moods and context, while Side B, Nü Blüs, takes a collage approach to “remixing” songs from the Old Blues record. These aren’t your standard “remixes” though, but more interpretations of the material with a focus on the weirder parts that make everything shine.
Having already shared “CATBOX 2,” we’re thrilled to share the album’s second single, “PLATI2DE,” a song with its roots set back in early 2017. While the lyrics are pulled from the epic Dead and Loving It album closer, the version offered on Recycling Myself is actually built upon a rarity once known as “Self Help Sundae,” released on a compilation months prior to the lumbering molasses dripped pace of the Dead and Loving It version, which paired “A Platitude” together with “A Final Understanding,” a sparse and poetic combo of inner dread and awareness. While the words remain unchanged on “PLATI2DE,” the music is far more lively, downright excitable even. The song still serves as a challenge for a change in perspective, a difficult reminder to look toward positivity because things aren’t always as bad as they seem. The doubled vocals, acoustic guitar strums, and spots of careening feedback all color the song in a new light, like a campfire singalong that’s both heartfelt and brilliantly insightful.