Upcoming Releases
N.E. Vains is an American/Canadian garage punk recording project that formed in autumn of 2022 between two Budget Rock Facebook Page members bored during lockdown (Jeffrey Thunders and TJ Cabot). Initially called “The Vains”, a decision was eventually made to expand on the name to avoid confusion with other groups they were either unaware of or forgot about. For the 4 Americans, “N.E.” stands for New England. For the sole Canadian, “North Eastern” (not bad eh!?).
Recruiting Shandy Lawn (Lead Guitar), Bill Bates (Bass) and Elvis Belushi (Drums), Jeffrey Thunders (Rhythm Guitar) and crew wrote and recorded 5 pieces of unplanned music in a Cheshire, Connecticut Studio with Tom Boudreau behind the controls. Once finished, the unmixed recordings were sent to Tyler Boutilier (aka TJ Cabot) in Moncton, Canada, who was tasked to write/record a melody and lyrics.
The collaboration went over better than expected, and within a year 14 songs were recorded --- three of which appeared on a split 7” EP in 2023 with Chinese Junk via Big Neck Records (Buffalo N.Y.) and Brassneck Records (U.K).
Unfortunately, bassist Bill Bates passed in 2023 --- but he left an undeniable mark on the Connecticut underground music scene, and the split with Chinese Junk - which features his incredible talents - was dedicated in his honor.
Filling Bill’s place on bass for the final batch of recordings is none other than well-known New Haven area rock musician and engineer, Scott Fitch, which brings us to the latest 11-song LP on Big Neck Records, Running Down Pylons.
From the slide guitar work of country-tinged tunes like “The Grounds” and “Through with It” to the Angry-Samoans-style “Pinched Nerve” and Freeze-influenced title track, Running Down Pylons is short, punchy and never lets up! More recordings are sure to come in the near future; in the meantime, Running Down Pylons is your new soundtrack to making the lives of local traffic construction workers a living hell.
