US / THEM: 90s DIY punk band NUZZLE streaming previously unreleased 1997 album in full early, album out Friday on Solid Brass Records

“A prime example of the emo scene of that decade, early emo that was an offshoot of post-punk/hardcore– think Sunny Day Real Estate or Texas Is The Reason. Well before the 2000s when mainstream emo broke big on Robert Smith cosplay, voices cracking, and trips to Hot Topic.” -- That's Good Enough For Me

"Solid Brass Records' focus rests on unearthing and re-polishing the gems of the bygone era, reminiscent of the days when screams were the voice of passion, and post-hardcore was a burgeoning genre challenging the norm… For Nuzzle it’s a resurrection of the spirit they embodied, a chance to resonate once again in the hearts of those who remember, and to stir the souls of those yet to discover them." -- Idioteq

Los Angeles label Solid Brass Records is streaming the forthcoming previously unreleased album by SF band Nuzzle a day early today via Idioteq. The album, No Love Like That -- The Stanford Sessions 1997 was originally recorded for short-lived Sub Pop subsidiary Die Young, Stay Pretty. These recordings became the stuff of lore for fans of 90s west coast indie music. Hear/share No Love Like That - The Stanford Sessions 1997 in full HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

About Nuzzle's No Love Like That - The Stanford Sessions 1997:

Originally recorded for Die Young Stay Pretty (a short-lived Sub Pop subsidiary), these previously unreleased recordings became the stuff of lore for fans of 90s west coast indie music. Essentially a demo and precursor to Nuzzle’s 1999 LP San Lorenzo’s Blues, these tracks are raw, energetic, and representative of Nuzzle’s live shows. Newly remixed and mastered, No Love Like That: Stanford Sessions 1997, is quintessential Nuzzle at their pinnacle.

Nuzzle began as a trio; Nate Dalton (guitar), Simon Fabela (bass) and Ricardo Reano (drums) in Rosemead, CA in 1991 before ultimately settling in Santa Cruz. In 1993 Nate’s older brother Andrew joined on guitar and switched to vocals early in 1994, solidifying their lineup.

By the mid 90s Nuzzle had already released several 45s, their Follow, For Now LP on Youth Strike Chord, and several compilation tracks. They had also completed a successful US tour with Fisticuffs Bluff, and had become staples in a loosely knit but deeply felt west coast scene anchored by Kill Rock Stars Records in Olympia and Gravity Records in San Diego. The buzz they generated helped them find their way onto bills with bands like Evergreen, Unwound, Lync, Bikini Kill, Modest Mouse, The VSS, Clikatat Ikatowi, and more.

In 1996 Nuzzle teamed up with friend and engineer Andy Radin to record 8 new songs at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, where Radin was recording bands during graveyard shifts from 10pm to dawn. “The legend goes that these recordings were originally meant for release on a ‘big label’ and were short-sightedly passed on,” recalls George Chen from Zum Audio.

Nuzzle never returned to the Stanford studio for a final mixing so Radin labeled his cassette copy 'Nuzzle Rough Mixes' and shelved the project while the band continued to play shows up and down the CA coast in 1997 and 1998.

Bassist Simon Fabela recounts, “We re-recorded the Stanford songs with Jeff Pinn from Zilla/Hyde Street Studios in an abandoned, supposedly haunted, half-way house in San Jose. That became San Lorenzo's Blues and was released in 1999 on Troubleman Unlimited.”

Radin and the band all agree the LP on Troubleman is strong, but these Stanford sessions capture Nuzzle as they were live; raw with more plaintive urgency in the vocals. “None of us had heard it in nearly 10 years. We actually really like the recordings since they captured what Nuzzle was like live back then,” says Simon Fabela, bassist for Nuzzle (and now Duster). “I was talking with a friend recently and she was saying that none of our recordings really captured the sound, the energy, the rawness of Nuzzle as she remembers us live. Listening to the Stanford sessions, I think these recordings came the closest,” says guitarist Nate Dalton.

No Love Like That: Stanford Sessions 1997 has been remixed by Liam Andrew Nelson, mastered by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering in Los Angeles, and will be available on LP and download on June 9th, 2023 on Solid Brass Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

About Solid Brass Records:

Solid Brass Records started in 2022 after a few friends from the 90’s DIY music scene reconnected over their shared appreciation for the community, people, and bands that influenced them 30 years prior. They decided to pool their collective knowledge and resources to start a label focused on reissuing music from that period as well as showcasing new bands similarly inspired by this scene.