Self Defense Family


Self Defense Family are an American rock band with members from across the United States and England. The band has released six full-length albums and several EPs and splits. Their sixth and latest studio album Have You Considered Punk Music was released June 29th, 2018 on Run For Cover Records.

History

End of a Year started as a side project for a number of musicians based in Albany, New York already involved in full-time bands. Having spent time in heavier bands, the initial End of a Year line-up was interested in trying something more overtly melodic. Taking their name from an Embrace song, the band's original sound was highly influenced by the Revolution Summer-era DC bands.
The band recorded a boombox demo to give out at their first show, which took place at SUNY Albany. Shortly thereafter, a more formal demo entitled "Warm" was recorded. A full-length, Disappear Here, appeared on local labels Oneohfive and Losingface Records. The band later released a split 7" with western Massachusetts band Three Fifteen on another local label, Slave Union. It was this record that caught the attention of Revelation Records, and the band made the jump in 2006, recording their first full-length for the California label in the spring of that year.
Sincerely was recorded with Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studio, adding to the perception that the band was striving for a DC-centered sound; the actual music, however, strayed further from that model than on previous releases.
In the spring of 2009 the band released an EP for Deathwish Inc. and announced plans for a full-length release for the label. In 2010, Deathwish Inc released the band's third full-length album entitled You Are Beneath Me.
The band regularly names songs after actual people with lyrical content that, though oblique, seems to reference the person. Some people the band has given song titles to include:
In late 2010, the band announced that they would be "reformatting" the group to officially include all touring and session musicians they had worked with up to that point as well as changing the group's name to Self Defense Family. To go along with this announcement, they posted four songs from the You Are Beneath Me LP with Patrick Kindlon's lead vocal track removed and replaced by vocals from Caroline Corrigan, including one song that was also reworked into an acoustic version. The band's tours have since been done on the basis of whoever is available at the time, with the same attitude being taken towards picking line-ups for their studio output. This format was taken to its furthest extent early on when one line-up of the band played a gig in Connecticut while another line-up traveled to Jamaica to record music for the first 7-inch in their Island Series of singles. As such, no member of Self Defense Family has played every show or played on every recording.

Band name

The group formed in 2003 under the name "End of a Year" derived from an Embrace song of the same name. After the release of their 2010 album You Are Beneath Me, the group wanted to change their name to "Self Defense". As an interim name to ease the transition between names, Self Defense went by the name "End Of A Year Self Defense Family," and occasionally "Self Defense Music." Vocalist Patrick Kindlon likened the transition to Will Oldham's name changes. According to Kindlon, Oldham's band name went from "Palace Brothers to Palace Songs to Palace Music to Bonnie Prince Billy to Will Oldham." On various vinyl releases, Self Defense used several "also known as" monikers including: Barf Spectrum, Meredith Hunter, Comforter, Pewter Wizards, and Weird Field.

Discography

The band is known for its prodigious output, often releasing a full-length album and several short efforts in a single year, normally through several different labels. Among them includes 4-5 songs EP sometimes with specific themes, like the relationship focused Duets and "Superior" which is centred around the movement to make the Upper Peninsula the 51st state. They also have an ongoing series of 7" singles recorded on Islands like Jamaica and Iceland, and have put out splits and collaborative EPs with a wide variety of bands including post-hardcore band Touché Amoré, post-punk band Creative Adult, hardcore punk band Axis, and even themselves under the pseudonym Meredith Hunter. They have likened these shorter outputs to "one night stands".

Studio albums

Singles and EPs

AlbumYearLabelBand name
Warm2004self-releasedEnd of a Year
We Understand Europeans Are a Sexual People2007BlacktopEnd of a Year
End of a Year2009DeathwishEnd of a Year
More Songs about Transportation and Intercourse2010HexEnd of a Year
The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Emanuela Orlandi2011Disposable CultureEnd of a Year
End of a Year with Caroline Corrigan2011self-releasedEnd of a Year
"I Heard Crime Gets You Off"2011Run for CoverEnd of a Year Self Defense Family
Bacha Bazi2011CumHard420Self Defense Family
"I'm Going Through Some Shit"2011DeathwishSelf Defense Family
"Self Immolation Family"2012DeathwishSelf Defense Family
Live From Krazy Fest2012Head2WallSelf Defense Family
The Corrections Officer In Me2013Family DrugsSelf Defense Family
You Are Beneath Her2013Iron PierSelf Defense Family
Two Genuine Oddities From Our Distant Past2014Driftwood RecordsSelf Defense Family
I Tried To Make Something You Would Enjoy2014Triple-B RecordsSelf Defense Family
"Indoor Wind Chimes"2014Deathwish Inc.Self Defense Family
Duets2014Iron PierSelf Defense Family
Talia2015Deathwish Inc.Self Defense Family
When The Barn Caves In b/w Alan2015Iron PierSelf Defense Family
Superior2016Run For CoverSelf Defense Family
The Power Does Not Work In the Presence Of Nonbelievers2016Bad PaintingsSelf Defense Family
Colicky2016Iron PierSelf Defense Family
Bastard Form B/W Maybe You Could Explain It To Me2017Alternative LabelsSelf Defense Family
BBC Session2017Deathwish Inc.Self Defense Family
Wounded Masculinity2017Triple-B RecordsSelf Defense Family
Working People 2018Run For Cover RecordsSelf Defense Family
Performative Guilt20196131 RecordsSelf Defense Family
Kitten Beach2020Run For Cover RecordsSelf Defense Family
Jesus Of Nazareth2020Run For Cover RecordsSelf Defense Family
Leeds2020Run For Cover RecordsSelf Defense Family
Long Island2020Iron PierSelf Defense Family
Make Me A Pallet Fire On Your Floor b/w Local Clerics2020Run For Cover RecordsSelf Defense Family

Splits

AlbumYearLabelSplit withBand name
We Mate for Life2005Slave UnionThree FifteenEnd of a Year
End of a Year / Fire Team Charlie2006Sticky Translucent GooFire Team CharlieEnd of a Year
End of a Year / Kids Explode2007NarshardaaKids ExplodeEnd of a Year
Adorno / End of a Year2008ExistenciaAdornoEnd of a Year AKA Comforter
End of a Year / Red Tape Parade2008Cobra XRed Tape ParadeEnd of a Year
Shook Ones / End of a Year2008Runner UpShook OnesEnd of a Year
End of a Year / Segwei2010Alliance TraxSegweiEnd of a Year
Split Recording2011Trouble MonkeyFiresSelf Defense Family
Tigers Jaw / The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die / Code Orange Kids / Self Defense Family2013Run For CoverCode Orange Kids, Tigers Jaw, The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to DieSelf Defense Family
Stalwart Sons / Self Defense Family2013Revolution WinterStalwart SonsSelf Defense Family
Self Defense Family / Goodtime Boys2013Palm ReaderGoodtime BoysSelf Defense Family
Least Violent Time In Human History2013Harm ReductionAxisSelf Defense Family
Run For Cover Records - Mixed Singles Vol. 12013Run For CoverCreative Adult, Anne, Grey ZineSelf Defense Family
Self Defense Family / Meredith Hunter2014Run For CoverMeredith HunterSelf Defense Family/Meredith Hunter
Self Love2015Deathwish Inc.Touché AmoréSelf Defense Family
Self Defense Family / Creative Adult2015Deathwish Inc.Creative AdultSelf Defense Family
Split 7"2016Protagonist MusicNullSelf Defense Family

Compilation albums

AlbumYearLabelBand name
German Industrial Ballads2015Bad PaintingsSelf Defense Family

Videos