Record Store Day Single from PUJOL

PUJOL at Asbury Lanes in November 2014.

"Junebug"

by Allyson Dwyer

Last year, when Screaming Females stopped by the Lanes, they had an opener from Nashville for whom Mike and Chris of SIMGE had extensive, high praise. That band was PUJOL, and they were one of the best live discoveries I had ever come across. From the opening lines of their first song, I didn't want to stop listening to them. I am a solid fan of Daniel Pujol's intriguing mixture of hyper-conscious, anxious lyrics and punk rock freak outs, live or recorded.

So funny that this track, “June Bug,” is a playful mixture of both. Prepped to be released as an exclusive split release with fellow Nashville band, Meth Dad, for Record Store Day, the track sounds like it was primitively recorded in the hollow halls of a hole-in-the-wall club during rock's coming of age. Think The Beatles playing in Germany before they got big, or when bluesy rock songs demanded you do an innocent dance just so the band could rock out. The number one thing this track does is remind me how amazing PUJOL are live and how much I wish they were playing up here again.

Pressed by Daniel Pujol himself, "Junebug" was purposely recorded live and will be done “relive” on actual Record Store Day, recreating the live recording at Queen Ave in Nashville (wow I wrote live a lot). This is a fun little spin on the weird release antics done for the sake of the loved-and-hated holiday known as Record Store Day. It's a one of a kind of approach that I would actually line up for. If you're unable to, however, the track will be available digitally for two weeks.