Hello Readers,

Welcome back. Have you listened to any good music lately?

Today, we’re excited to share that Tsunami, a phenomenal 90s and early 2000s alternative and indie rock band, is releasing a box set of their previous work for a wider audience to enjoy for the first time and for long-time fans to get on the long out of print vinyl for the first time!

According to the band’s well-recorded history the Arlington, VA-based band’s beginnings are as such, “It was the end of 1990, and Kristin [Thomson] and Jenny [Toomey] were living in the same house where they ran Simple Machines. Earlier that summer they had met Andrew Webster when Jenny’s band Geek (another Simple Machine band) had done a three-week tour with Superchunk and Seaweed. Andrew and Jenny made fast friends and eventually, he was (con)vinced to come up to Arlington around Thanksgiving 1990 to try to form a band that could play at a New Year’s party. After enlisting the support of former housemate John Pamer to play drums, Tsunami was formed. They weren’t quite ready for the New Year’s party, but within a couple of months, they were already packed into Kristin’s Trooper in freezing February for their first tour.” It was not just the house that the independent Simple Machines label was originally ran out of though, it was also the legendary punk-activist Positive Force house in the DC area. The link is to a fascinating 28-minute documentary made in 1991.

Tsunami’s first full length album Deep End was released in 1993, followed by The Heart’s Tremolo (1994), and the compilation album, World Tour & Other Destinations (1995). The band’s original lineup was intact until 1996 when drummer John Pamer graduated from University of Massachusetts Amherst and headed to NYC. Pamer was replaced by local Arlington resident Luther Gray and Gray would play on the band’s third album A Brilliant Mistake (1997). All of the albums were not universally praised but well regarded by critics at the time. The tour to promote that 1997 album saw Tsunami welcoming new members, Amy Domingues (bass guitar) and Bob Massey (guitar and keyboards).

The label called it quits in 1998. While it didn’t last as long as Tsunami, it would release all of the band’s recordings. Even more impactful, the label released four editions of The Mechanic’s Guide, a DIY music guidebook that aided so many in not only empowering artists but also gave them a blueprint and insight into how to start your own small labels and release your own music in the 90s and beyond influencing many future generations across genres and cementing a place in history.

Since then, both Toomey and Thomson have continued their advocacy mindset. First as two of the co-founders of the DC-based non-profit thinktank Future of Music Coalition before both moving onto other roles.

And today, we all get to share in this spectacular 61-song, 5 LP box set Loud Is As that is out Friday, November 8th via Numero Group. From the press release, the box set “includes the 4-track demos released as Cow Arcade (1991); remastered versions of their three Simple Machines albums, Deep End (1993), The Heart’s Tremolo (1994), and A Brilliant Mistake (1997); and all of their singles, b-sides, and compilation tracks.” The press release goes on to say, “Designed by Farbod Kokabi and Emily Sneddon, the box set’s packaging reflects Tsunami’s distinctive design aesthetic – a mix of Popular Mechanics magazines, clip art, font and wallpaper sample books, travel postcards, punk fanzines, and vintage letterpress. The accompanying 32-page book is jammed with photos, flyers, and ephemera sourced by the band, documenting tours, festivals, friendships, and crashpads. Edited by DC native Joe Gross, the band’s history is retold through interviews with bandmates, including Tsunami’s later lineup members Amy Domingues, Luther Gray, Bob Massey, Rob Christiansen, and Franklin Bruno. Essays by six respected music writers recount Tsunami’s history and significance, from record-to-record and from then-to-now, restoring the band to its rightful place as standard-bearers for the 1990s independent explosion.”

The blue and white split colored, Edge Of Water vinyl version is already sold out. But the standard black and Old Grey Mare vinyl shown below are available to purchase here.

The following is a fabulous four song set that Tsunami did for the incredible John Peel Sessions from John Peel on BBC Radio 1 station in May of 1993. Looking into the Peel Sessions catalog and one can be overwhelmed and impressed quite easily. What a legacy of recorded music that Peel shared with the world and left us:

(All credits and rights to Tsunami)

The Loud Is As tracklist:

LP #1: Deep End           

A Side

1. In A Name
2. The Spook
3. Slugger
4. Lucky
5. Water’s Edge
6. Genius Of Crack
7. 460

B Side

1. Valentine
2. Skinny
3. Waxed
4. Writing Letters
5. Stupid Like A Fox
6. Unlisted

LP #2 – The Heart’s Tremolo

C Side

1. Loud Is As Loud Does
2. Quietnova
3. Be Like That
4. Fast Food Medicine
5. Kidding On The Square

D Side

1. Slaw
2. Cowed By The Bla Bla
3. The Heart’s Tremolo
4. Le Bride D’Elegance
5. Fits And Starts

LP #3 – A Brilliant Mistake

E Side

1. Old Grey Mare
2. Great Mimes
3. Double Shift
4. Enter Misguided
5. The Workers Are Punished
6. Liar’s Dice (Flight Of The Chickens)

F Side

1. The Match
2. Unbridled
3. DMFH
4. David Foster Wallace
5. Hockey
6. PBS

LP #4 – World Tour and Other Destinations

G Side

1. Flameproof Suit
2. World Tour
3. Ski Trip
4. Kickball Babe
5. Candyman
6. Jonathan
7. Writing Letters
8. Breakdown

H Side

1. Genius Of Crack
2. Answerman
3. Left Behind
4. Punk Means Cuddle
5. Crackers
6. Could Have Been Christmas
7. Load Hog

LP #5 – World Tour and Other Destinations

I Side

1. Goldigger
2. Sometimes A Notion
3. Walking Tour
4. Courage
5. Beauty Pt. 2
6. Brick Book Building

J Side

1. Not Living
2. Kidding on the Square
3. Bossa Nova
4. Poodle
5. Old City
6. Newspaper

I’ll always advocate that you support DIY, activist and feminist art and media in any of its forms. This comprehensive and excellent music within release Loud Is As is great example that supports all three. And releases that are hard to come by for the past 30 years? Add this box set to your collection!

The best way to acquire this release? Right here. They’re also on Spotify if you prefer to listen to music over there.

Happy listening!

Alex M Theel

Co-Founder, Reviewer, Content Creator, Business side, Editor at Scummy Water Tower Productions | Web

Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com