NORTHEAST REGIONAL returns with a new punchy single to lead off the release of the album, “Brand Managers of the Mid-Atlantic,” out January 27 on Magnet Coil Media and Tor Johnson Records. Standing on the shoulders of The Lemonheads, Superchunk, and Tenement, the band fits into the modern canon of post-hardcore and post-pop punk bands. Today, we’re thrilled to give you their new wild single “Heiress” and their version of THE BREEDERS’ “Do You Love Me Now?”, originally released on their 90s alternative rock album “Last Splash.” Listen below and pre-order HERE.
Based in Richmond, VA and led by Jeff Byers (Wow Owls, Best Practices, Light the Fuse and Run), Northeast Regional’s mission statement is to create punky, energetic bursts you can’t get out of your head.
The single was recorded in Richmond with Allen Bergendahl at Viking Recording (Shy, Low, Positive No) and mastered by Will Killingsworth (Orchid, every band ever). It will appear on the 17-track album “Brand Managers of the Mid-Atlantic” which is currently available for pre-order.
Rounding out the digital single is a home recording of “Do You Love Me Now,”
FFO: Tenement, Militarie Gun, Oso Oso, Timeshares.
As with many defense contracts and journalism careers, Northeast Regional began in the northwest quadrant of Washington, DC and ended in a satellite city. Their new album “Brand Managers of the Mid-Atlantic” is indebted to Foo Fighters’ “The Colour and The Shape” as much as it is Hot Snakes, Tenement, Lungfish, and Fugazi’s “End Hits”.
“As an impatient person, I found the process to be very anti-impatient,” Byers said of the album.
The album, ultimately an exercise in the craft of songwriting and production, started with inspiration from playlists at the gym where Jeff tried to decode The Lemonheads, Smartboys, Superchunk, Superdrag, Supercrush and other super bands’ songs while maintaining a heart rate of 120-150.
Then more groove-oriented riffs influenced by the Washington, DC metropolitan statistical area bands such as Regulator Watts and Lungfish started seeping into the project.
Add the demure emotional intensity of Lucinda Williams and Sparklehorse with the devil-may-care attitude of Dismemberment Plan, the weirdness of The VSS and Brainiac, and the energy of Swiz and you get the idea that Northeast Regional is a distillation of a mid-Atlantic man of a certain age’s listening history.
The album fits into the modern canon of post-hardcore and post-pop punk bands, including Fiddlehead, Militarie Gun, Timeshares, and Oso Oso. During Brand Managers of the Mid-Atlantic, styles flow seamlessly from abrasive yet catchy power punk anthems to slowed down post-punk dirges.
Byers plays guitar and sings on most tracks but he’s not alone.
While not quite hitting the body count on Chinese Democracy, Northeast Regional features a murderer’s row of ex-members of bands that mostly played for exposure: Neil King (drums, Weak Teeth/Sullest), James Doubek (guitar, The Sniffs), Mike Morris (guitar/vocals, REPS), Tyler Worley (bass, Wow Owls, Sharpening), and Zach Nelson (drums, Missives, REPS).
Steve Roche (Amateur Party), Nate Dominy (Prayer Group), Zach Wish (Large Margin), and Allen Bergendahl (Viking Recording) recorded the various sessions. The album is mastered by Will Killingsworth (Orchid, Ampere) at Dead Air Studios.
