Information/Write-up
Bum are a Canadian punk and power-pop band formed in Victoria, British Columbia, in the early 1990s, emerging from the same Vancouver Island underground that produced bands such as The Smugglers, Chixdiggit, and other melody-driven West Coast punk outfits. Founded by guitarist-vocalists Andrew Molloy and Rob Nesbitt, with bassist Kevin Lee and drummer Graham Watson, Bum quickly developed a reputation for tightly written songs, sharp hooks, and a deep affection for 1960s pop filtered through 1990s punk energy.
The band’s earliest recordings appeared in 1992, when Bum began issuing a string of internationally released 7-inch singles on labels in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Titles such as Go Crazy!, At the Well, and Debbiespeak—many recorded at Egg Studios in Seattle with producer Kurt Bloch—introduced a sound that balanced driving guitars and melodic choruses with humour, classic rock references, and pop-savvy songwriting. Several releases openly paid tribute to the band’s influences, including covers of songs by The Dictators, The Faces, Dead Boys, and The Rolling Stones, often paired with playful sleeve design and visual satire.
Bum’s debut full-length album, Wanna Smash Sensation! (Munster Records, 1993), brought together singles, new material, and extended experiments such as the side-long track ‘No Idea’. Recorded primarily at Egg Studio in Seattle and produced by Bloch, the album showcased the group’s range—from concise power-pop blasts to looser, jam-oriented structures—and has since become a cult favourite among collectors of Canadian punk and pop-punk records. The album’s combination of immediacy, charm, and unpolished energy has helped it endure well beyond the band’s original lifespan.
Throughout 1993 and 1994, Bum maintained an active international profile through split releases with bands such as Teengenerate, Innerface, The Smugglers, and Fifi + The Mach III, as well as the live album Shake Town! Recorded Live (1994), captured at Madrid’s Revolver Club during a European tour. These releases documented Bum as a high-energy live act and underscored their close ties to the global underground punk network of the era.
The band continued to evolve with I Am Superwoman (Munster Records, 1994), a covers-heavy LP that reflected Bum’s wide-ranging influences, and Make It or Break It (Impossible Records, 1995), recorded in Vancouver with John Collins and David Carswell. The latter featured contributions from Ford Pier and Neko Case, pointing toward the broader musical paths its members would later follow. While Bum never pursued mainstream exposure, their output from this period represents one of the most consistent and internationally connected Canadian punk discographies of the 1990s.
After a long period of inactivity, Bum’s recorded legacy was revisited in 2025 with the release of Kidd Bitz (& Glazed Rookies) on Italy’s Hey Suburbia label. Rather than a conventional comeback album, the LP functions as a curated archival collection, assembling rare 7-inch tracks, alternate versions, home demos, and previously unreleased recordings spanning the band’s original era. Alongside early staples such as ‘A Promise Is A Promise’ and ‘Wedding Day’, the album includes unreleased songs like ‘Everything I Say Is Wrong’ and ‘You, Down Again’, offering new insight into the band’s songwriting depth and unfinished ideas.
Taken as a whole, Bum’s body of work documents a band that thrived on songcraft, humour, and international collaboration, leaving behind a catalogue that continues to resonate with fans of melodic punk, power pop, and Canadian independent music. The 2025 archival release affirms Bum’s enduring relevance, not as a revival act, but as a group whose original recordings remain vital decades after their creation.
-Robert Williston
Andrew Molloy: guitar, vocals
Rob Nesbitt: guitar, vocals
Kevin Lee: bass, vocals
Graham Watson: drums
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