Bleeder have shared their new single Sideways. Bleeder founder, Shelby Smoak, found himself listening heavily to New Order while recording the track, and this influence is heard in the nuances of the instrumentation. For fans of Guided by Voices, The Districts, or Interpol, Bleeder was born from Shelby Smoak’s success as an author. His critically acclaimed 2013 novel Bleeder: A Memoir laid bare the raw struggle of living with hemophilia and HIV, is now continued through Smoak’s music and debut album ‘Bleeder’. Listen to Sideways via Soundcloud below.
Bleeder was started in 2014 as a recording project by Shelby Smoak, a long-time musician from the Chapel Hill indie rock scene. Smoak has been involved with numerous music projects for the past 15 years. In 2013, Michigan State University Press published Shelby Smoak’s memoir, Bleeder: A Memoir, which garnered Smoak a book tour along the East Coast; press reviews including The Minneapolis Review and Glamour; radio and TV appearances, including the Bob Edwards Show on NPR; and several awards, such as a National Library of America Book of the Year award.
Bleeder reflects Smoak’s desire to put his struggles into songs. The moody and cathartic aesthetic that Bleeder: A Memoir reflected needed to be expressed in a way that transcended the abilities of prose. This raw emotion is embodied throughout Bleeder’s debut self-titled album. To make the project a reality, Smoak recruited the talents of local musicians Chuck Campbell (drummer for Charlie Post and Ugly) and Drew Speziale (frontman of Circle Takes the Square). Doubling as both talented musicians and long-time friends of Smoak, the musical chemistry was palpable from the band’s first practice together, and with that, Bleeder was born.
Bleeder documents the sway of emotion, the brooding moments of despair, the fleeting moments of happiness. Lyrically, Smoak channeled the raw and unembellished reality of life; sonically, he strove to capture feeling. Bleeder is memoir music. As with his prose, these songs are about dying to live: the fight, the pain, the heartache, the melancholy, the joy. To capture these moments, Smoak opted to do all the recording in his basement, with Al Weatherhead (Sparklehorse, Camper van Beethoven, The Magnolia Project, Jennifer O’Connor) joining for mixing, and Tom King for mastering.
Track list
1. Happiness
2. Little Souvenir
3. If You
4. The Past
5. Sideways
6. Fate
7. Satisfied
8. Hanging On
9. Hold Your Tongue
For more information on Bleeder, visit shelbysmoak.com.
