DUMP HIM
Northampton by Boston, MA band DUMP HIM just released their new album Venus in Gemini through Disposable America(Horse Jumper of Love, Soft Fangs, etc)/Anxiety Pop(Littler) and we bring you a premiere listen featuring a round-table in-depth discussion with Jaclyn Walsh, Laurel Simonson, Larz Brogan, Otto Klammer & Zoë Wyner. Perfecting the ultra-terse punk pop song that forever hovers around the succinct & excellent minute & a half mark, DUMP HIM are to celebrate the new DIY ethics that care not for your bro-punk bollocks & binary b.s. but instead turn over the merch tables of formality & tired conventions for an unforgiving course of pure confidence & invested belief in the autonomy of the individual. The lyrics pull no punches & the band makes no apologies for their art & queer-core activism that dismantles the patriarchal palaces that have outlived their function & use with a whole lotta heart & a strong will.
The brilliance in Venus in Gemini is how DUMP HIM practically allows you to forget about almost everything you have heard before or after through an incredibly precise economy of effective & direct timing. DUMP HIM entertains all aspect of healthy skepticism about almost everything that life offers up, as established on “Benefit/Doubt” that hones in on the importance of adhering to intuitions of reluctance about anything/anywhere/anyone that proves a cause for hesitation. From here we are brought to the blistering sport of “Spectator” that shatters the passive activities of the passersby for a force of nature that is poised to be a live standard for the group. The paradoxes of “Attack and Amend” offers up a view into the intricacies of interpersonal dynamics & connections that deals with absences & the argumentative nature of standing your ground while still attempting to make-up with the individual(s) in question. “Whats Yr Deal With Kim?” is a colloquial chord blazer that offers up insight into discourse with questions of did we clear the air yet? that shrugs with admissions of being bad at following through while hurling any & all available chords at the audience. DUMP HIM riffs, rocks & rolls off the alliterations of there’s always something else on “Route 1 Saugus” that alludes toward a local Massachusetts town of interest while gleefully playing into the slightly sophomoric & silly “42069” that combines carnal humor with the cannabis connection. Discarding classic role notions, “Pretty Like a Boy” embraces the uncertainty of our-bodies/ourselves with liberating & painfully honest lyrics like “I can’t identify the cause, I don’t know what I am. Can’t do anything about it.” Enjoy now as DUMP HIM proudly presents one of the year’s best releases:
DUMP HIM’s Jac Walsh, Laurel Simonson, Larz Brogan, Otto Klammer & Zoë Wyner took the time to share a plethora of perspectives about their queer-punk masterpiece Venus in Gemini in the following insightful interview feature:
Give us the untold story of Dump Him from the beginning to now; what bonded you all as a group then to now? What’s changed? What hasn’t?
Jac Walsh: DUMP HIM actually started out as a solo project! I messed my hearing up real bad from going to too many hardcore shows in high school and had to take a break from playing music for a while. I actually never thought that the project would morph into a full band, but decided to go out on a limb for a weekender I was doing with Larz’s old band, Daephne. I asked her to play drums, and the songs sounded exactly how they felt like they should have from the beginning. We’ve been playing together ever since with a rotating lineup of bassists + just added lead guitar to the mix! Zoë was also instrumental to the recording process; all the harmonies you hear on the record are thanks to her! Right now we’re a four piece—it’s me, Larz, our friend Otto on bass, and our friend Laurel on lead guitar. I still do most of the main songwriting, but everyone writes their own parts and throws in harmonies if they feel like it. It’s very chill and sometimes the lineup rotates for tours because everyone has their own projects, but now it’s us four for the most part.
Venus in Gemini is not your average astrological reading but a true ripper of an album that can almost be summed up on the third song, “Attack and Amend”; it’s fierce, brutal, not compromising, understanding, confident, defiant but compassionate & caring. Interested in hearing stories on the album’s inception & recording.
Jac: A lot of these songs are about being gone a lot and in my absence missing and learning to cherish the things that matter, and learning how to let go of the things that don’t. I was dealing with some pretty intense trauma the year that I wrote most of these songs, and I think that in part inspired the album as a whole. I really appreciate that you read compassion and care into these songs; I don’t think of this as just a record about letting go but it’s also a record about healing, hopefully in a way that will allow me to become the most compassionate version of myself that I can be. I’m getting there still!
Also tell us about the launch of your label Anxiety Pop Records & what else is in store down the road from the imprint.
Zoë Wyner: To be honest, Anxiety Pop started as a pretty wishy-washy idea. When I first considered starting a label, I don’t think I really believed that I would go through with it, and I definitely didn’t understand exactly what would be involved. The past year of my life was pretty much entirely dedicated to organizing Ladyfest Boston 2017, and as it was wrapping up I decided that I wanted another way to support the musicians that are putting things out there that feel exciting/important to me. So here we are now! DUMP HIM was definitely one of the projects that made me want to make it real – I helped with the recording and mixing process, and it’s been really cool to be a part of making a record come to life from start to finish. THE release that really made me want to get my act together and make Anxiety Pop come to life is yet to be announced, so keep your eyes peeled!
Also, both releases that I’ve put out so far (Littler and now DUMP HIM) have been in conjunction with my friend Dustin’s label Disposable America, and I will honestly say that he’s a huge part of why I went through with any of this as well—he has been incredibly supportive and is really good at what he does, plus he has great taste!
Tell us what’s new & good in Northampton, Mass right now that you all dig.
Jac: Our band is kind of split between Northampton and Boston right now, and I love both places a lot! Right now I feel like the scene in Northampton has been growing, and I’m super grateful for that. Things have been hard with house venues shutting down—a lot of the same stuff Boston was going through a few years back, but we’re always going to have community centers like Flywheel where we can gig any day of the week that I feel super grateful for! Me and Laurel are also in a booking collective out here called Eternal Slumber Party that centers queer artists in our booking, and doing that work has made me feel a lot more at home here. And then as far as bands from here go, I’ve been really stoked on Nanny and Ex-Temper lately!
Also any good road tales from your recent tour?
Larz Brogan: This tour was WILD. Our pal Ian has a 15 passenger van he was kind enough to drive us in, so it was just 4 Dumps, a classic rock freak, no A/C, and THE OPEN ROAD BABY! One of my favorite memories was walking through the streets of Cleveland less than 24 hours after making a poll about 69 on Facebook. Jac and I were particularly still hyped on this, and were yelling 69 AYEEE as we crossed the street. A car full of strangers must have been inspired and offered us weed from their window. A true act of kindness.
We also had some really dumb but special inside jokes that came out of this tour. The #1 in my eyes is the OWA-A-A-A from the intro of “Down With The Sickness”, by Disturbed (y’all know it). We literally said that 50x a day, EVERY DAY on tour. It was great. We also got really into Thin Lizzy (“The Liz” as Ian says) and decided to cover “Lucky” by Britney Spears.
Driving through the night from Pittsburgh to Philly was certainly another highlight. In an effort to avoid driving eight hours from Pitts-Boston the next day, we decided to pull an all-nighter and take on the five hour drive to Philly after the show. Ian, Otto, and myself took shifts driving and sang along to everything from The Black Parade, to Rubber Soul, and Songs in the Key of Life, and rolled into the Philly sunrise as “Drivin’ on 9”, by The Breeders was playing. I actually just woke up from a much needed 16 hour recovery sleep from this.
Laurel Simonson: When we were in Philadelphia, we spent both nights hanging out with friends and relaxing; Sonam from Ursula had us over for dinner which was incredibly kind. Also, I found a handwritten copy of the lyrics to I Know What Boys Like by the Waitresses at the R&R Hall of Fame which was iconic.
Other bands we got to know about?
Jac: Hell yeah, always! There are so many, but right now I’m particularly stoked on Human People, Mallrat, Aye Nako, Didi, and Fleabite! Otto, who plays bass in DUMP HIM now also plays in a band called Dazey & The Scouts who are incredible. Larz is in a band called Palehound who are dropping a record soon, Laurel has a solo project called Boyscout Thriller, and Zoë is in a band called halfsour!
Larz: Definitely agree with what Jac listed. Thin Lips, Ursula, Tall Friend, Fern Mayo, Anna Altman, Gravel, Horse Girl, Honeymooner. Thin Lizzy 😉
Laurel: Seconding everyone above, also Snakeskin, Susie Derkins, Second Becky. Also, Connie Converse is great; she was DIY before DIY was DIY!
Otto Klammer: Yeah listen to Aye Nako, check out Cosmic Johnny for your transgender space rock needs, Sidney Gish, and Dollys 😀
What are some of the most important areas of activism that we should be directing our efforts & interest toward?
Jac: I’d love to see the punk & DIY scenes focus more on survivor support. When I first started going to shows in Boston, a really great collective called Support Boston was tabling with zines on consent and survivor support at most of the shows I was at, which made me feel a lot safer and opened my eyes to a lot of really important principles regarding mutual respect and support. Smash It Dead Fest, a queer-centered & trauma informed punk & hardcore fest was also happening each year back then. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the spaces these sorts of collectives created and how crucial they were. I’d love to see more of a focus placed on trauma-informed activism in the future, and have been doing a lot of thinking lately about how I can do my part in creating those spaces in my community.
Larz: All of that! Book a DIY show in yr community and make it a benefit for a survivor support group! They are not hard to find! Google it!
Other parting advice/anecdotes?
Jac: Keep queer punk not corporate.
Laurel: I want to take a minute to sit and state how grateful I am to be in a band and community that values a shared radical politics. Playing in DUMP HIM and in these DIY scenes is so much more than music for me, it’s a chosen family that I really cherish. Maybe I’m getting sappy, but it means a lot to me; the scene isn’t perfect, but I want to stay involved and work to help it flourish. Please check out the bands we mentioned; please get involved with your scenes.
Otto: No. is a complete sentence, normalize using they when you don’t know someone’s pronouns, drink plenty of water, and remember that you are a blessing and you are loved. <3
Larz: Don’t forget to tell yr pals how much you love them!! Start a band, you can do it! YOLOHOMO 42069
DUMP HIM’s new album Venus in Gemini is available now from Disposable America/Anxiety Pop.
