SINCE NO COAST, BRAID’S 16-YEAR COMEBACK ALBUM,
Seminal indie-rock band Braid have released “Kids Get Grids,” a song being featured on their upcoming Record Store Day 7″ of the same name. Available on Saturday, April 18 at participating Record Store Day stores, the “Kids Get Grids” 7″ will feature the title track as well as “Because I Am,” a cover song originally written by the band Broken Hearts Are Blue. The 7″ comes on the heels of No Coast, Braid’s critically acclaimed album that was recently deemed “a blueprint for the elder statespersons of emo returning to the fold” by NPR All Songs Considered and an LPPitchfork declared to be “the kind of album you’d expect out of Braid if they kept going after Frame & Canvas and learned how to adjust with age.” More information on the release can be found on Record Store Day’s official website HERE. Stream ” Kids Get Grids” via The FADER HERE.
Since its inception in 1993, Braid released a number of compilation songs, 7″ material and full-length albums that are still regarded as indie-rock benchmarks. 1998 was the defining year for Braid. The band played almost 200 shows that year, toured Europe twice (first with The Get Up Kids then with Burning Airlines), and Polyvinyl Record Co. released Frame & Canvas, the quintessential Braid album, recorded and produced at DC’s Inner Ear studios with J. Robbins. The record was released in April 1998 and met with more success than neither Braid, nor Polyvinyl, had ever imagined. The band would part ways shortly thereafter in 1999, spawning additional projects and incorporating other musicians to their respective projects.
In mid-2010 the members of Braid – Chris Broach (guitar/vocals), Bob Nanna (guitar/vocals),Todd Bell (bass), and Damon Atkinson (drums) – discussed the possibility of working on a new release as well as performing a number of reunion shows that eventually led to their Closer To Closed EP and their Frame & Canvas tour in 2012 where they performed the album front-to-back in addition to a number of fan favorites. This burst of activity was a welcome return for the band that’s also made fans excited for what was possibly next beyond the release and brief stint.
After a number of months of writing and a recording session with notable producer Will Yip, Braid released No Coast in 2014, its 16-year return in full-length form that was praised extensively by the likes of major North American outlets such as NPR, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, ABC News, Pitchfork, SPIN, Stereogum, Paste, The AV Club, Alternative Press and many more. The album represented more of a rebirth of the band than a simple reunion and, as guitarist/vocalist Bob Nanna states, is just a small taste for what’s to come from these four musicians who are continuing to leave an indelible mark on indie music. “The drive has always been there to create new, exciting material that would speak to all of our fans, old and new,” he says. “We’re excited with how the record turned out and look forward to Braid’s busy future.”
