Bored Nothing

Working from his bedroom and recording all the parts by himself like a true '90s indie rock obsessive, Melbourne, Australia native Fergus Miller began releasing songs via Bandcamp in 2010 with the Other Things EP under the name Splintered Oar. His lo-fi, bedroom folk sound conjured up a more experimental Elliott Smith, and Miller's voice did bear an uncanny resemblance to the late singer's angelic croon. Further EPs followed under the Splintered Oar name in 2011 (Reverie 8, Beard of Bees, 7 Ribs), as did an EP of electronic songs under the name Mexico (Freedom from Occult Practices), before Miller bought an old four-track recorder and changed his project's name to Bored Nothing. Along with the new name, he adopted a guitar-heavy sound that brought to mind noise bands like Sonic Youth and power poppers like Teenage Fanclub, and mixed in some jangle pop and shoegaze influences as well. Once he switched sounds, Miller began issuing a flood of songs, both on Bandcamp and on CD-Rs that he would pass around his hometown. He also put out a homemade cassette of the first three EPs, and in mid-2012, rounded up a band to play his songs on the stage. The live band's debut took place in August of 2012. Around this time Miller hooked up with Spunk Records and in November, released Bored Nothing. The record was made up of songs taken from previous releases, plus five new songs, all recorded at home with only some guitar added by Marcus Sellars on one track and keyboard by Geoffrey Thorsen on another. The album was then released in the U.S. by Spunk and Cooperative Music in April of 2013. The next Bored Nothing album was recorded in a studio, but still managed to have a slacker-y homemade feel. Some Songs was released in late 2014
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