Bristler - Cascades At Play

Bristler is an alternative/indie rock band from New Jersey formed and fronted by multi-instrumentalist and producer Rudy Meier (Wetbrain, Yawn Mower, Tide Bends) in 2023 with Biff Swenson (Yawn Mower, Grasser, Scumming) and Dana Yurcisin (Yawn Mower, Dana Why, Grasser). The trio began working together as bandmates in Yawn Mower and quickly clicked aesthetically and musically. Bristler began by rehashing an LP’s worth of songs from Rudy’s previous project, Wetbrain, that had never gotten the chance to see the light of day. This LP, titled Cascades at Play, is the band’s first output. It is a sprawling, at times watery amalgamation of “pretty” and “glitchy” (a la Minus the Bear or Radiohead) without sacrificing the songs’ core elements. There are riffs. There are beats. There are hooks. It has it all. Lyrically, the songs touch heavily on themes of isolation, hopelesness, and deep introspection with a heavy dose of metaphor, but at the end of it all, these songs are about navigating one’s life trajectory, as uncertain as it may be, with a “nose-to-the-stone” mentality and refusal to give up in the face of hardship. Bristler hope to have you along for the ride.