Bleach

    Bleach

    Nashville, Tennessee15 reviews across 5 releases

    acoustic rockalternative rockmodern rockpower pop
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    Bleach formed in 1995 at Kentucky Christian College in Grayson, Kentucky, initially playing under the name Muffin before moving into Nashville's Christian alternative-rock circuit. The early music drew on grunge and modern rock, with upbeat melodies, fuzzy guitars, nasal vocals, and overtly Christian lyrics. On Static, the guitars moved forward, the arrangements became more dynamic, and songs could stop and then surge back with altered guitar effects. The 1999 self-titled album added cleaner pop melody and a more reflective close. A label change to Tooth & Nail accompanied Again, for the First Time in 2002, where the band adopted a rawer power-pop and pop-punk approach, with Weezer-like hooks and more candid writing about debt, homesickness, and spiritual fatigue. Its characteristic tension remained: exuberant rock beside songs of doubt, worship, or grief.

    Bradley Ford and Todd Kirby departed during the 1999-2000 turnover, followed by drummer Matt Gingerich; Russ Fox joined on bass before the changed lineup settled around Milam Byers, with Jared Byers on drums and Jerry Morrison on bass. The revised band moved to Tooth & Nail and continued through Astronomy, whose songs carried the grief surrounding the death of Captain Josh Byers, brother of a member, in Iraq. Bleach announced its breakup in 2004 and played its last scheduled show in Nashville on August 29 that year. It recorded Farewell Old Friends after the announcement, then issued it in 2005 without touring behind it. A benefit performance followed in March 2005, and another reunion appearance came that October. The band reunited again in 2010. In 2026, a 30th-anniversary tour featuring Davy Baysinger alongside Sam Barnhart and Milam Byers returned Bleach to the road, with new music in preparation.

    5 releases reviewed