THE HUMMS MAILING LIST

SIGN UP

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

GYPSY FARM

NEWS  BLOG  BIO  DOWNLOADS  SHOWS  LISTEN  PHOTOS  VIDEO  PRESS  STORE  LINKS  LYRICS  CONTACT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos courtesy of GFR

Taken By Whitleigh Davis  

“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)

 

"Lemonland explodes immediately with a jangly freneticism and dark melodic pomp setting the tone for a rollicking pandora's box of crashing waves and windy alleys. There's a classic rock and roll vibe that never strays far from sinister overtones and halloween themes--Scarecrow surf music from the Autumn of love. Lemonland possesses all the energy of the Humms live with a few extra cereal box prizes where the energy ebbs for moments of rye breathed sorrow and acoustic interludes. Think a three piece garage pysychedelia seance. Paint the floor like a Quija board and dance your shins bloody. Immediately catchy and singalongable, the Humms are bound for local greatness as leaves fall gold into the gutters--rusty wallets full of rotting coins."

 

The Athens Secret Admirer - Athens, GA

Vol. 1, Issue 29

 

“The Humms revel in all manner of '60s rock 'n' roll, from raucous garage psychedelia to doo-wop sock-hop, from adrenalized mutant surf-rock to acoustic west coast balladry, to British Invasion and bubblegum and beyond. The Athens band's debut album, Lemonland, plays like a hidden disc in one of the Nuggets box sets.”

THE STOMP AND STAMMER - ATLANTA, GA

 

“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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The title song of their ‘Are You Dead?’ EP was one of the finest singles of 2009 and,

possibly, the preceding decade. While nothing could touch the turbocharged indiepop

brilliance of that song, The Humms come close to it at points on their debut album. The

Georgia band’s record is a riot of sound, plunging from psychobilly to punk, surf-pop to

dirty blues, tipping a wink to the Pixies and the Cramps as well as countless shaggy-

haired garage bands. That shape-shifting will leave you breathless by the end, as the

18 tracks mix speeds and styles, from the unrestrained psychobilly of ‘Blood Sucking

Vampire’ to the folky mellowness of ‘When I Wake’. - 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

 

“Heavy doses of haunted house reverb and the sound of tube amps banging around shroud this hairy trio's brand of visceral jangle and fuzz. ...And it's not all sweaty '60s garage punk, either. There's all sorts of room for acoustic pop and folk-damaged contemplation going on here. Not much not to like about these guys, really. Just good, noisy, toe-tapping hooks. For fans of the Cramps, Gringo Star, Flat Duo Jets and the Violent Femmes' first album.”

 

CREATIVE LOAFING - ATLANTA, GA

(Chad Radford)

 

“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

 

“Sounds like he's humming from inside a coffin...after he's been buried alive! Not exactly psychobilly proper, this record nonetheless has the creepy, echoing, darkly joyous vibe that makes Halloween the national holiday of so many, and fans of pre-literary Nick Cave, pre-heaven Cramps and even a little pre-Dolly Porter will want sum Humm, chum!”

ROCTOBER MAGAZINE - CHICAGO, IL

 

“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

 

 

“The title song of their ‘Are You Dead?’ EP was one of the finest singles of 2009 and,

possibly, the preceding decade. While nothing could touch the turbocharged indiepop

brilliance of that song, The Humms come close to it at points on their debut album. The

Georgia band’s record is a riot of sound, plunging from psychobilly to punk, surf-pop to

dirty blues, tipping a wink to the Pixies and the Cramps as well as countless shaggy-

haired garage bands. That shape-shifting will leave you breathless by the end, as the

18 tracks mix speeds and styles, from the unrestrained psychobilly of ‘Blood Sucking

Vampire’ to the folky mellowness of ‘When I Wake’. - 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

 

“Heavy doses of haunted house reverb and the sound of tube amps banging around shroud this hairy trio's brand of visceral jangle and fuzz. ...And it's not all sweaty '60s garage punk, either. There's all sorts of room for acoustic pop and folk-damaged contemplation going on here. Not much not to like about these guys, really. Just good, noisy, toe-tapping hooks. For fans of the Cramps, Gringo Star, Flat Duo Jets and the Violent Femmes' first album.”

 

CREATIVE LOAFING - ATLANTA, GA

(Chad Radford)

 

“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

 

“Sounds like he's humming from inside a coffin...after he's been buried alive! Not exactly psychobilly proper, this record nonetheless has the creepy, echoing, darkly joyous vibe that makes Halloween the national holiday of so many, and fans of pre-literary Nick Cave, pre-heaven Cramps and even a little pre-Dolly Porter will want sum Humm, chum!”

ROCTOBER MAGAZINE - CHICAGO, IL

 

“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