The Bay Bridged is proud to announce the release of The Bay Bridged, Volume 1, a compilation spotlighting eleven of the best bands in the San Francisco Bay Area, all of whom you’ve heard on previous episodes of The Bay Bridged Podcast. The comp is a mix of brand new and previously unreleased songs as well as some local favorites. Needless to say, we’re extremely excited about the release.

Full album stream:

Tracklisting:

1. The Dodos – “Men”
2. Love is Chemicals – “Let Me Come Down”
3. Finest Dearest – “Making a Sound 2”
4. Tempo No Tempo – “Static”
5. The Old-Fashioned Way – “Robot on Fire”
6. Social Studies – “Sparrow”
7. The Lonelyhearts – “Complicated Men”
8. Or, the Whale – “Call and Response”
9. The Dont’s – “Believe?”
10. Peloton – “Stopping Time”
11. Tartufi – “Mourning’s Wake”

Album artwork and design by Scott Barry.

About The Bay Bridged, Volume 1:

From the opening sounds of The Dodos’ “Men”, it’s clear there’s something exciting going on in the
Bay Area scene. The Bay Bridged, Volume 1 is an attempt to sample some portion of the variety of great bands within the San Francisco scene, gathering eleven groups found during TheBayBridged.com’s ongoing quest to find the best in local independent music. Available July 13th, 2007, the compilation represents a unique effort to draw unity across groups of varying sounds and influences while providing an hour-long mix of excellent music.

The first half of the compilation emphasizes the rock side of the San Francisco indie scene with a mix of
exclusive songs and local favorites, starting with brand new tracks from guitar-driven indie poppers Love is Chemicals and the post-punk sounds of Finest Dearest. On the local favorites front, Berkeley’s Tempo No Tempo offer the insanely catchy dance-rock number “Static” (“Like good baristas, [they] pull their shots hard and fast to deliver a compact and effective dosage.”—Brian Howe, Pitchfork Media) and Social Studies bring us “Sparrow”, a live set closer and crowd-pleaser (“My new favorite band”—Bill Picture, San Francisco Chronicle). In a similar vein is The Old-Fashioned Way’s “Robot on Fire”, a pop manifesto from a band that has been packing venues around San Francisco before releasing a single record.

The second half of The Bay Bridged, Volume 1 showcases the more diverse indie-influenced pop
sounds of the Bay, with The Lonelyhearts, singer-songwriters mixing synth, folk, and pop sounds and Peloton, who offer a waltz-like mix of dream-pop, shoegazer and indie rock. Other groups add their own unique imprints upon the mix, including Or, The Whale, whose unique blend of folk, alt-country and rock influences attract diverse packed crowds, and The Dont’s, a band blending pop sounds and Can-inspired jams that make listeners dance and scratch their heads at the same time. The compilation closes with the epic yet melodic rock of Tartufi (“a complex, textural wall of sound that’s smartly built then elegantly deconstructed”—Robbie Mackey, XLR8R).