THE BLIPS

  • CURRENT RELEASE

    • Release
      The Blips
      April 09, 2021
      BUY

  • AUDIO

          1. Inside Out

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    • Download three hi-res photos of The Blips (credit: Dustin Timbrook) and album art

    What happens when five frontmen form a band? Probably disaster. Or, possibly, collaborative beauty. In the case of Birmingham, Alabama’s The Blips, it’s the latter.

    The group formed after Will Stewart – an accomplished songwriter and guitar player who has released several acclaimed records under his own name and with the Birmingham-based group Timber – sent a few curious text messages inviting a group of friends and collaborators to convene and write some tunes together. That group included: Taylor Hollingsworth, Wes McDonald, Eric Wallace, and Chris McCauley.

    For over 20 years, Hollingsworth has built a dedicated following by composing incomparable rock, blues, punk, and pop music under subtle variations of his name. He also writes and performs with Dead Fingers and Conor Oberst’s Mystic Valley Band (among many other projects and groups). He’s considered by many to be one of the nation’s most innovative and adventurous guitar players.

    McDonald, who plays drums in The Blips, has been making records under one moniker or another — including Terry Ohms and Vulture Whale — since 2000. His studio, Ole’ Elegante, in Birmingham served as ground zero for The Blips as they wrote, practiced, and recorded their first 10 songs with Les Nuby engineering.

    McCauley, the leader of seminal Birmingham band Holy Youth, and Wallace, a well-respected guitar ripper who’s toured the globe, were
    already collaborating on a one-and-done punk project called Bad Hops when The Blips formed. Wallace’s deep experience with touring, writing, and playing rock music also influences his day job through which he teaches students of all ages to play guitar. He also owns Birmingham’s much-celebrated venue, The Firehouse.

    McCauley’s sensibilities are informed by bratty punk music and simple, yet melodic, lead guitar riffs. Critics and friends have described his singing voice as “squirrely” – a criticism he cherishes.

    The Blips answered Stewart’s invitation in the affirmative in late-2019, and, by February 2020, the band had written and recorded ten tracks – two weeks prior to the COVID-19 pandemic shut down. Through persistent text messaging and emails, they found a way to mix and master the songs from a distance, resulting in their first full length record.

    Their self-titled debut album sounds less like a casual experiment than a band that has been playing together for years. With The Blips sharing lead vocals, guitar, and bass duties, this surprisingly cohesive and high energy album ranges from straight-forward garage rock to hit-and-run rockers to pop ballads with massive lead parts and gang vocals. They’ve even got a song called Wild Thing II.

    The Blips’ self-titled album is out now on vinyl, CD and digital/streaming platforms via Cornelius Chapel Records. Click here to order.

    Big thanks to all the radio stations from coast-to-coast that have be spinning The Blips’ new self-titled album…

    ALT 101.7 / WQRR (Tuscaloosa AL)
    BOMBSHELL RADIO (Internet Radio)
    BTRtoday | BREAKTHRU RADIO (NYC Internet Radio)
    CICK (Smithers, British Columbia)
    HANKS ALTERNATIVE RADIO (Internet Radio)
    KDUR (Durango, CO)
    KRUI (Iowa City, IA)
    KTAL (Las Cruces, NM)
    KXSF (San Francisco, CA)
    MAD WASP RADIO (Internet Radio)
    THE MUSIC AUTHORITY LIVESTREAM SHOW (podcast show)
    ONE CHORD TO ANOTHER (Finnish podcast show)
    RADIO BOISE (Boise ID)
    SIRIUS XM | LITTLE STEVEN’S UNDERGROUND GARAGE
    WERA (Arlington, VA)
    WMSE (Milwaukee, WI)
    WPRB (Princeton, NJ)
    WRUW (Cleveland, OH)
    WSUM (Madison, WI)
    WXNA (Nashville, TN)
    WXPR (Rhinelander, WI)

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    THE BLIPS “THROW ME AROUND” MUSIC VIDEO

    FOR MORE INFO ON THE BLIPS:
    http://www.corneliuschapelrecords.com/the-blips
    https://theblipsband.bandcamp.com

    FOR MORE INFO ON CORNELIUS CHAPEL RECORDS:
    http://www.corneliuschapelrecords.com

    FOR MEDIA & INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
    Tony Bonyata
    Pavement PR
    e: tony@pavementpr.com
    https://pavementpr.com

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  • Here’s what critics have been saying about The Blips:

    • “The Blips are a supergroup of sorts, emerging out of the same Alabama southern-punk scene that has produced giants like The Dexateens and Verbena.” – Gerry Ranson, VIVE LE ROCK!

    • “Alabama supergroup The Blips’ new single ‘Walking Home’ is buoyed by country-inflected guitar lines and a powerful pop heft that recalls the glory of early Big Star, The Nerves, and other underground savants while retaining their own exciting identity.” – Jedd Beaudoin, POPMATTERS

    • “… coherent and definitely mining the vein of the ’60s-era garage Nuggets, and ’70s guitar garage pop à la FLAMIN’ GROOVIES. Definitely more driving pop than fuzz, which is absolutely fine by me.” – Ramsey Kanaan, MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

    • “The Blips, who consist of experienced players from numerous other projects, specialize in punk-edged power-pop Southern-style. Point is, these slicksters have their combined head on straight. In terms of tough melodic action from the region, this is up there with Gentlemen Jesse. A-“ – Joseph Neff, THE VINYL DISTRICT

    • “…songs that are catchy, loud, and easy to sing. If anyone tries to argue with you that rock is dead, this album is all you’ll need to prove that person wrong. Perfect for those days when you want to embrace your inner teenager and just rock out in a ripped t-shirt like you used to before you had a regular job.” – Gary Schwind, GLIDE MAGAZINE

    • [93/100] “Birmingham, Alabama’s The Blips tuneful brand of bash and pop executes a perfectly imperfect landing on their raucous debut LP. Clocking in at just under 32 minutes, this puddle jumper of a record comes in hot with reckless punk abandon and wildly infectious rock ‘n roll energy, flying by the seat of its pants all the way. This stuff is highly addictive and accessible, with just a touch of twang. Saint Paul Westerberg would surely bless this glorious mess.” – Peter Lindblad, ELMORE MAGAZINE

    • “… a true rock ‘n’ roll consortium, a group of songwriting singers with a shared love of all facets of rock music, especially those of the lo-fi and primitive variety. It’s a big man’s dose of glossy garage rock with good vibes that will get you thinking and moving at the same time.” – Eric Miller, MAGNET

    • “Fast and loose… the best in southern power-pop.” – Rachel Cholst, ADOBE & TEARDROPS

    • “”Walking Home” is an impossibly jangly song that somehow combines pop punk and Americana/southern rock. It’s pop punk with a near country twang, and just the slightest hints of late ’60s British psychedelia thrown in there. It is filled with some of the sunniest vibes and killer guitar solos, which isn’t typically a thing with pop punk. ‘Walking Home’ may just be impossible to not love, even if you normally hate pop punk or anything even slightly country.” – IF IT’S TOO LOUD

    • “Ten stonkingly good power-pop tunes that just ooze class from the melodies to the arrangements to the production, it’s just such a great album. The verses are spot on as are the melodies and the solos are just right, never over noodling and always to the betterment of the song. Their single ‘Throw Me Around’ sounds like the most important song ever for three and a half minutes.” – Dom Daley, RPM ONLINE

    • “When The Blips really click, it pops like sweet bubblegum. This cool quintet enthusiastically offer up indie pop with an unchallenging but comfortably retro rock ’n’ roll sound, like Nick Lowe veering towards Brendan Benson via Wreckless Eric.” – Callum Reid, ORIGINAL ROCK

    • “… a really substantial new rock record. Sometimes you want rock songs short, uptempo and — on to the next one. These guys deliver.” – John Hyland, WHEN YOU MOTOR AWAY

    • “10 joyously mad and self-indulgent slices of pop-punk with hints (gasp) of country rock that then veers wildly into angular post-punk. This album is an affectingly strange and vivid scrapbook, full of off-kilter sonics that morph seamlessly into glorious pop music.” – Peter Hough, THE PUNK SITE