Big Scary Monsters Recording Company (often known simply as Big Scary Monsters or BSM Records) is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

based in Oxford, England. Its releases include

American Football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

, Lambrini Girls, La Dispute, Modern Baseball,

Laura Jane Grace Laura Jane Grace (born Thomas James Gabel; November 8, 1980) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!. In addition to Against M ...

, We Were Promised Jetpacks,

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

Minus The Bear Minus the Bear are an American indie rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2001, and comprising members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. Their sound has been described as " Pele-esque guitar-taps and electronics with sophi ...

mewithoutYou MewithoutYou, usually stylized as mewithoutYou, was an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band consisted of Aaron Weiss (vocals), Michael Weiss and Brandon Beaver (guitars), Greg Jehanian (bass guitar), and Rickie Mazzott ...

Kevin Devine Kevin Devine (born December 19, 1979) is an American songwriter and musician from Staten Island, New York City, who is associated with acts such as Brand New, Manchester Orchestra, and The Front Bottoms. He is a contemporary member of the u ...

The Get Up Kids The Get Up Kids are an American emo band from Kansas City. Formed in 1995, the band was a major act in the mid-1990s Midwest emo scene, otherwise known as the " second wave" of emo music. Their second album '' Something to Write Home About'' r ...

, Hell Is For Heroes, Pedro The Lion, The Fall of Troy, Andrew W.K.,

Tall Ships A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...

Cursive Cursive (also known as joined-up writing) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionality and m ...

Joyce Manor Joyce Manor is an American punk rock band formed in Torrance, California, in 2008. The band's current lineup consists of singer-songwriter and guitarist Barry Johnson, guitarist Chase Knobbe, and bassist/backing vocalist Matt Ebert. The band's m ...

, Bear vs. Shark and Delta Sleep amongst others.

History

Big Scary Monsters was established in 2001 by Kevin Douch whilst he was still in

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

. In Autumn 2006 BSM launched its first sub-label,

Alcopop! Records Alcopop! Records is a British independent record label, run by Jack Clothier and Kevin Douch formed in East Oxford, 2006. The label works with DITZ, DZ Deathrays, Johnny Foreigner, Fight Like Apes, Anamanaguchi, Peaness, TIGERCUB, Gaffa T ...

. Alcopop! began working with bands such as

Johnny Foreigner Johnny Foreigner are an indie rock four-piece from Birmingham, UK, consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Alexei Berrow, bassist and vocalist Kelly Parker (née Southern), drummer Junior Elvis Washington Laidley, and guitarist and visual ar ...

Anamanaguchi Anamanaguchi is an American chiptune-based pop and rock band from New York City. The band has four members: lead songwriters and guitarists Peter Berkman and Ary Warnaar, bassist James DeVito, and drummer Luke Silas. Anamanaguchi combines digit ...

Fight Like Apes Fight Like Apes (also referred to as FLApes or FLA) are an Irish alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 2006. Their final lineup consisted of Mary-Kate " MayKay" Geraghty (vocals and synth), Jamie "Pockets" Fox (keyboard and vocals), Conor G ...

and others. On 7 September 2010, the label celebrated its 100th release. The release was titled ''Partied Hard'' was a DVD/CD compilation featuring over thirty promo, live and bonus videos from the label's history. It was only available between 7 September (the day after BSM099 came out) and 24 October 2010 (the day before BSM101 was due out). In April 2011 BSM co-founded Pink Mist with fellow indie labels Holy Roar and Blood And Biscuits. A 12" compilation was released on Record Store Day to mark the launch. Pink Mist is an East London-based collective releasing records, promoting regular live shows and blogging about up and coming new bands. In 2012 it was nominated for Best Small Label at the

AIM Awards The AIM Independent Music Awards, hosted by the Association of Independent Music (commonly abbreviated to AIM), began in 2011. It is established through a collection of independent record labels and providing service and support to independent and ...

. Kevin Douch was featured as a speaker at AIM's Indie Con event in 2017. From 2007 to 2016 BSM hosted an annual

five-a-side football Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four Outfield#In association football, outfield players and a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper). Other differences from association football ...

tournament at Wembley Powerleague, with bands, labels, magazines, shops and other music industry teams competing.

Pop-up stores

In December 2016 the label announced that they would be opening up a pop-up Store in Hackney

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from January 23 to February 4 in 2017. This two week period was eventually catalogued as BSM200 and was a celebration of the label's 16th birthday. During the pop up there were in-store performances from Modern Baseball,

Gnarwolves Gnarwolves were a British punk rock band, formed in 2011 and based in Brighton, England. The band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Thom Weeks, bass guitarist and vocalist Charlie Piper, and drummer Max Weeks. History Formation, and early r ...

, Delta Sleep, Tall Ships and more. There were also other non-music based events including, a-bring-your-dog day, a screen printing day with Awesome Merchandise, and a cocktail bar run by the band Tiny Moving Parts. In March 2018, BSM announced that they would be opening their second pop-up store in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. The in-store featured performances from UK based signings Jamie Lenman, Orchards, Nervus, and US band Slaughter Beach, Dog. In 2019, BSM continued its run of form and announced their pop-up store would be coming to Glasgow in Scotland. Over their time there the label hosted in store performances from We Were Promised Jetpacks and in store talks from prominent Scottish music figures. Since then, the label have gone on to open pop-up shops in Brighton, Cologne and Norwich, as well as a craft beer and record shop in Oxford called Big Scary Monsters Social Club, which was open from September 2020 until September 2023.

Reissues

Over the last few years BSM have continued to reissue classic yet niche releases from the early 00's. - The Gloria Record - A Lull In Traffic - 2020
Released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the EP's original release. -

And So I Watch You From Afar And or AND may refer to: Logic, grammar and computing * Conjunction, connecting two words, phrases, or clauses * Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition * Bitwise AND, a Boolean ope ...

- ASIWYFA - 2019
A 10th anniversary reissue featuring a remastering of the original record and a live recording of the band performing their debut record all consisting in a 4LP box set. - Hell Is For Heroes - Neon Handshake - 2018
A celebration of the band's debut album turning 15 -

Reuben Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on th ...

- In Nothing We Trust - 2017
Less of a reissue and more of a first press. To coincide with the final Reuben album turning 10 BSM pressed In Nothing We Trust on White vinyl. - Bear vs. Shark - Right Now, You're in the Best of Hands. And If Something Isn't Quite Right, Your Doctor Will Know in a Hurry - 2011

Current bands

Bands currently releasing music on the Big Scary Monsters record label. * Alpha Male Tea Party *

* Bicurious * Chastity *

* Cultdreams * Delta Sleep * Hell Is For Heroes *

I Am The Avalanche I Am the Avalanche is an American punk rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The group's name comes from a lyric written by Vinnie Caruana for a song which was later discarded. The phrase also appears in the poem ''"Oh, Immobility, Death's Vast As ...

* Into It Over It * Jamie Lenman * Lakes *

* Lambrini Girls *

* Me Rex * Michael Cera Palin * Orchards * Other Half *

Owen Owen may refer to: People and fictional characters * Owen (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Places United States * Owen, Missouri, a ghost town * Owen, Wisconsin * Owen County, Indiana ...

* Pedro The Lion * Pool Kids * SUDS * Tangled Hair * Thank *

* Vinnie Caruana * We Were Promised Jetpacks

Previous bands

Bands who have previously recorded for the label include: * Adebisi Shank * Andrew W.K. * Axes * Balance and Composure * Blakfish * Cats and Cats and Cats * Chariots * Chris Farren * Colour *

Crash of Rhinos Crash of Rhinos were an English emo band from Derby, England. They were signed to Topshelf Records, To Lose La Track and Big Scary Monsters. History Crash of Rhinos was formed in 2009. They released two full-length albums before disbanding in ...

* Doe * Gender Roles * Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly * Great Grandpa * Grown Ups * Hiding With Girls * Hold Your Horse Is * Hop Along * Illuminati Hotties * Itch * Jairus * Jarcrew * Jetplane Landing * Jeniferever *

* La Dispute * MAN ON MAN * Meat Wave *

Meet Me In St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith family in St. Louis ...

* Mimas *

* Modern Baseball * My Awesome Compilation * My Favourite Co-Pilot * New Pagans * NOBRO * Oceanator *

Pet Symmetry Pet Symmetry is an American emo band from Chicago, Illinois. The band formed in 2012, and they are currently signed to Storm Chaser Records. The band's name is a play on words taken from Stephen King's novel ''Pet Sematary''. Pet Symmetry's i ...

* Prince Daddy & The Hyena * Pulled Apart By Horses * Remember Sports * Reuben * Richard Walters * Secondsmile *

Shoes and Socks Off A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

* Slaughter Beach, Dog * Sparks Lights and Flames * Stories and Comets *

Talons A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tars ...

* The Campaign for Real Time * The Fall Of Troy * The Gloria Record * The Next Autumn Soundtrack * The Remarkable Rocket * The Tupolev Ghost * Thin Lips *

This Town Needs Guns TTNG (formerly known as This Town Needs Guns) are a British math rock band from Oxford, formed in 2002, and currently signed to the American label Sargent House Records. Following numerous departures, the band went from being a four-piece to a ...

* Through Silence *

Toe Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...

Tubelord Tubelord were an English alternative rock band, formed in 2006 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. In 2009, the band signed a record deal with independent label Hassle Records and on 12 October 2009 they released their debut album '' Our First A ...

* Walter Schreifels * Weakened Friends *

You Blew It! You Blew It! was an American emo quintet based in Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2009 by Tanner Jones, Timothy Flynn, and Matt Messore. History In 2012, the band released their debut LP, '' Grow Up, Dude'' under Topshelf Records. Prio ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Record labels established in 2003 British independent record labels 2001 establishments in England