Local bands shine on EP

Bloomington music lurks in basements. Red Solo cups waving through the air, it’s not just jungle juice that drives scene – it’s the bands that emerge from the underground.

Prizzy Prizzy Please and Push-Pull are two of the B-town bands that went from the Statehouse (a popular basement venue) to the Bluebird and then throughout the Midwest, spreading this college town’s nerd-electro-dance-rock gospel.

Together, the bands have dropped a split EP with two songs apiece. Instead of a CD, the bands released a 7-inch vinyl record along with the password for a digital download of it.

The throwback format celebrates physical media and demands interaction: You have to flip it to hear more.

Push-Pull starts side A with “Hatchet,” a minute-and-a-half of winding guitar riffs and break-the-skin drum slamming.

This dives into “687,” a longer piece that captures the band’s playful sound. The band warn anyone walking near the A-frame where they practice to wear ear protection, then define their music as “direct and spastic; a bit cryptic, while simultaneously genuine like pay day,” and this song exemplifies that perfectly.

Side B takes off with “Melt Melt Down,” Prizzy’s tribute to a video-game level the band members couldn’t escape. It sounds like electronic syrup of Mega Man X tripping on Pixie Stix. It’s fast, furious and classic Prizzy.

“Ride the Love Bullet,” finishes off the too-short album. Rising saxophone blasts layer into crashing rock, a song about the band’s need to drive Mitsubishi cars. Anything that sounds like a guitar is actually a keyboard, and this four-piece band plays like they are little boys describing a dream: “Go down the strip and we’ll move real fast until the engine blows!”

Even though they have been gigging throughout the Midwest, Prizzy and Push are still rootsy enough to thrive in the basement scene.

Push-Pull will release their first full-length album Friday on Chicago’s Sick Room Records, and both bands will play a Bloomington release show for the coming LP on Nov. 19 at Jake’s. Prizzy, in true basement-life fashion, can’t release a full-length album until they raise funds from EPs and touring. In its place, this album teases of bigger things to come.