“Recorded, produced, and lovingly hand-packaged by fire-breathing frontman Zeke Sayer,
The Humms’ debut LP is an 18-track behemoth of psych-rock energy. The raw garage
psycho-billy numbers that dominate their live shows are all here. The shotgun blast
opener “Blood Sucking Vampire” establishes the band’s signature, sinister tone, and
that tone lingers throughout like the stench of reanimated flesh, from the zombified
swing dance “Buttermilk,” to the satanic surf of “Brown Haired Devil.” In between
these well-traveled live staples, however, the band shows off surprising versatility
and a rarely seen softer side. Southern gothic-flavored acoustic numbers like “Uncle
Sam Took My Baby Away” bring their spooky sensibility to traditional country, while
the eerie, doowop-tinged “Strawberry Glue” sounds like it’s drifting straight up
from the malt shop jukebox in hell. For a band that specializes in ghoulish shocks,
the most shocking thing about this album may be the presence of the truly touching
“Talking to a Ghost.” Without abandoning his commitment to spirit world imagery,
Sayer offers lines like “we’ll stay and haunt this haunted house/ watch cable from
the old wood couch/ pack smokes from your tobacco pouch/ at least I finally found
myself” with a gentle whisper and a heartfelt sincerity. All of this diversity makes
The Humms’ first album something of a mixed Halloween bag, full of a few tricks,
a lot of treats, and not one lemon in the bunch. Presumably, when life gave The Humms
lemons, they made Lemonland.”
FLAGPOLE MAGAZINE - ATHENS, GA
(David Fitzgerald)
“Up-and-coming Texas trio Woven Bones may have been the main draw for this rough-edged
Caledonia rock show, but I’ll be damned if Athens, GA didn’t show Austin how it’s
done Tuesday night. Commanding the room from beneath a Sideshow Bob-style afro, Humms
frontman Zeke Sayer delivered grimy, surf-tinged rockabilly with a vaguely malevolent
appeal. Their numbers were brief, but highly concentrated, piling as much '60s garage
fervor into two-minute nuggets as humanly possible, and Sayer’s motormouthed vocals
were matched at every turn by his pencil-skirted, speed demon bassist, Jessica Miller.
Together they proffered a knock-kneed, full-stage psychobilly freakout worthy of
The Cramps or The Mummies, and set a high bar for any band that dared follow them.”
FLAGPOLE MAGAZINE - ATHENS, GA
(David Fitzgerald)
“This is timeless rock n’ roll music that will bring goose bumps out on all those
that thrill at the beauty of rock n’ roll”
ODD BOX RECORDS - London, England
“This is garage rock at it’s finest, most sincere. The high energy performance was
a nice departure from most of the music coming out of Athens currently. Highly dig-gable
jams threatening to make even the most reluctant of onlookers want to tap their foot
along. This band was steeped with a myriad of influences but I would be hard pressed
to compare them to any particular genre, past or present. The music was original
and very catchy, a fine example of what happens when talented people get together
and build a better band.”
THE SILVER TONGUE - Atlanta, GA
Live Review By Robin Juhan
“Their old-fashioned garage sound and obvious love for The Cramps were on display,
as was the jiggly ass of what looked like a UGA sorority girl. For what it's worth,
the dudes who came in late for the dance party that followed seemed to get more out
of the dancer than the people who were there for rock and roll. By the end of The
Humms' set, the dancing girl was in her underwear, the bass player was naked and
half of the audience was on stage - The night was insane.” MORE
7 INCH ATLANTA - Atlanta, GA
"The songs are simple and enjoyable with the likes of Are You Dead? being as catchy
and contagious as swine flu. However highlight for me is the “Southern Comfort” blues
sound of LSD Is Evil! that sounds like it’s being played at a bar in a Louisiana
Swamp! A great EP that has encouraged me to seek out more."
INDIE-MP3.co.UK
"Are You Dead? (EP) took a mere one second to hook and reel me in!! The fevered WHOOP
that precedes the rattling garage groove won me over immediately ; A fantastic release,
and if any song is going to top 'Are You Dead?' for Song Of The Year, it's going
to have to be pretty special." MORE
THIS ELEGANT CHAOS - Scotland
“Their (Are You Dead?) EP is a brilliant all killer no filler blast of garage pop,
switching from the 60s sputnik rock of the title track to the Monkees do Nuggets
cheery mayhem of Do the Graverobber!. LSD is Evil is a wonderful squawking yarn with
more than a hint of a Boy Named Sue about it, while No One Wants To Be Alone on Valentines
Day is simple but highly enjoyable Shins-style singalonga ballad stuff.” MORE
SOUNDSXP - London, England
“Lemonland” is a potent mix of sleazy, chugging garage rock, swirling
psychedelia, and moments of contemplative acoustic bliss. From the dirgey,
shadowy stomp of "Buttermilk" to the supremely catchy, churning grooves of
"Don't think about death", to the drugged out fifties balladry of the aptly titled
"sleepy, sleepy", to the stark, simple acoustic based "Talking to a Ghost",
“Lemonland” is a diverse and rewarding journey, that gets better each listen through.”
Andrew Rieger - Elf Power
“I really cannot put into words how much I like this album. It's diverse, it's raucous,
it's weird, it's catchy, it's well recorded, it's fucking fantastic. THE HUMMS are
an Athens, GA outfit spearheaded by wild haired country boy Zeke Sayer. Zeke runs
his own recording studio in a former theme park, making it a ghost town of sorts
and you can hear that haunted Scooby Doo sound coming through on this album. The
opener "BLOODSUCKING VAMPIRE" sets the tone for the record with it's frantic "something
is chasing me and it's fun" vocals and warbly eerie guitar lines. Every song on
this slab is a winner. And it's got 18 songs.”
JUNGLE ROT BLOG - GAINSVILLE, FL
(Waylon Thornton)
“In Athens, Georgia The Humms are rattling the very foundations of their city. With
song titles like ‘Are You Dead?’, ‘Do The Graverobber!’, ‘LSD Is Evil’ and ‘Little
Freaky Girl Like You’ its fair to assume we’re in primitive Back From The Grave garage
territory here. But you’d be wrong, for they have an infectious jangle, Acid Gallery
of weird sounds and pop-punk sensibilities too.”
SHINDIG! MAGAZINE - London, England
“This is some good good business here folks. The Humms, a poly-genre loving band
from Georgia, will be releasing their new record Lemonland in August and it’s 18
tracks offer up an excellent exploration of the essential components of psycho-billy,
punk, garage rock. The group manages to cover such a wide swatch of sonic territory
because they don’t try to mash them up into something new. Instead, each track has
it’s own distinct sound- often an homage to the classics- but with the grubby Humms
treatment which gives it that extra kick. Lemonland may be a mixed bag genre-wise
but each song is executed so well and with the same raw enthusiasm they all become
pieces in a curious puzzle.”
THE WORLD IN A PAPER CUP
(Emma - LEMONLAND LP REVIEW)
“I got hooked on “Don’t Think About Death,” the 5th track off [the humms] debut album,
Lemonland. Their bio describes their style as “Part-psychobilly, part-garage rock,
even a hint of primeval Nashville,” and “Don’t Think About Death” fits this like
a glove. The song totally reminds me of a Quentin Tarantino flick… there’s the surfer-sounding
guitar, the retro sound, and vocals that fall somewhere in between the murder and
the haunting.”
THE FRONT LOADER BLOG
Swapmeet Louie
“The Humms are one of the many bands that have passed through the Flagpole office
on their way to my iPod. Very few make it back into my personal rotation but the
Humms
are just too damn catchy to ignore.”
Jordan Stepp - Athens Music Junkie
“The Humms offer a refreshing change of pace from the current wave of drone and half-hearted
rock that seems to have overtaken Athens. Their live shows are extreme, high-energy
gigs, vaguely reminiscent of the utterly exhausting Flat Duo Jets. The trio is prone
to thrashing about onstage, something that manages to carry through to most of the
EP. (Are You Dead?)” MORE
FLAGPOLE MAGAZINE - Athens, GA
“Their lysergic grave yard take on Rock-N-Roll seems equally inspired by rockabilly,
Big Star and Nuggets, and is one of those fascinatingly ‘out of time melodic three
minutes at a time’ bands that you come across every so often." MORE
SWEEPING THE NATION - UK
“Completely ace garage fun time with The Humms. Lead track "Are You Dead?" has a
great surf feel to it with a brilliant pop chorus. Quite Pixies-like in it's approach,
but much more melodic with a few twists and turns in it like Mercury Rev on amphetamines
- certainly far from the two-chord end of the garage spectrum. If there's any justice
in the world this would be a huge hit! "Do The Graverobber" is also totally great,
as is the rest of this manic, wildly inventive and goddamn catchy-as-shit EP. Best
thing I've heard in ages."
THE SHEFFIELD PHONOGRAPHIC CORP - Sheffield, UK
"The Humms are a breath of fresh air in this stale copycat music world...We should
have more groups that find their own sound.”
GENYA RAVAN - XM Sirius Radio -USA
"The Humms punch and brawl and get physically violent with Rock 'n' Roll.
- They might win"
A NEW BAND A DAY - UK
