CanadianWasteland Archives: Bubble Jug - Discography (1992-1995)

Bubble Jug was a hardcore band from Northern Virginia. They were pioneers of the screamy, abrasive brand of hardcore that would explode in popularity the mid 90s; later becoming known as emo. Bubble Jug are incredibly underrated and unsung heroes of the very early 90s emo scene; they helped mould and shape essential facets of the "emo" sound with their intense nature and love of experimentation. The band utilized wood, string and brass instruments, unconventional samples and shrieking dual male-female vocals to stunning effect.

Bubble Jug stands as one of my personal favourite emo/screamo bands of all time. They bravely paved new road in the hardcore scene at the time and contributed to some impressive compilations and splits, as well as being alumni on the excellent Nervous Wreck Kids. Although they toured and collaborated with other, more well known "emo" bands, they seem to be virtually forgotten.

I was incredibly excited when the excellent Belladonna records announced that a Bubble Jug anthology LP would be pressed and an extended online anthology would be uploaded to bandcamp. I immediately picked a copy up and it remains a favourite in my collection, I believe there is quite a few copies still available. I would wholeheartedly recommend picking one up, as this band is incredible and deserving of some love and attention. It seems like their original 12" splits are incredibly rare, I have yet to even see a listing for them online; so theres a bit more incentive to pick up a copy of the discography while they are still available.

Besides the obvious draws of this band, their head start on the rest of their scene, their brave and surprisingly effective experimentation and their associations with other great bands of the time, Bubble Jug crafts some seriously impactful and emotional songs. A personal favourite song of mine is "I Have Pictures"; they managed to beat Madball to the punch on the beginning sample (Set It Off) and the whole song is an off-putting and tastefully humorous explosion of emotion and anger. Bubble Jug's song structure is really miles ahead of a lot of bands in the scene at the time, I'm not hyping this band up for no reason, they really deserve praise.

Bubble Jug Anthology

(We will update this post with scans of the anthology LP and booklet when we are able to)

Vestpocket Psalm Split 12" 1994 (Nervous Wreck Kids)