Sounds Refreshing: Dive Bar Album

April 12th is Record Store Day. That means your local independent record store will have a bunch of new, interesting, and very limited vinyl releases made especially for your ears. And, this year, Miller High Life is getting in on the act.

Yes, the Champagne of Beers is releasing a record called Dive Bar Sounds. And not just any record. They’ve not only infused the music with samples from your favorite well-worn watering hole, like doors creaking, pool balls cracking, and bottles popping, but they’ve also put actual Miller High Life into the record. It’s between the two sides of the opaque record, like some kind of executive gift you’d order from a catalog back in the day. They claim it’s the first time it’s beendone with High Life. And, without taking time to actually verify the claim, um, okay. We believe you.

According to their press release, the album marks the beginning of The Soundtrack to the High Life, a “new, year-long music platform honoring the authentic moments where great music and The Champagne of Beers come together.” And what is a greater authority on authenticity than a press release from a corporation? Here’s how it describes a few of the tracks on the 25-minute-long LP:

• Welcome to the Dive: an upbeat rhythm built from the percussive sounds of pool balls, with subtle notes of the classic High Life jingle woven throughout, capturing the energy of game night at your favorite bar.
• Regular’s Remix: a laid-back track where the familiar murmur of regulars and clinking High Life bottles create the soundtrack to a perfect night at the bar.
• Champagne Nights: an ambient sound led by the signature hiss of The Champagne of Beers being opened and the effervescent dance of bubbles rising to the top.
• Last Call Symphony: a low-fi melody featuring the hum of High Life neon signs and a closing time bell that feels like your final waltz out of the dive bar.

The music on the 25-minute-long LP is primarily instrumental. The ambient bar sounds were supposedly recorded at actual bars throughout the Midwest.

After listening to the record, the Drink Wisconsinbly Department of Poetry and Songwriting drew on its own experience in dives and got to work crafting a few even more authentic tracks for a follow-up album. Titles include “I Have a Good Feeling About This Next Basket of Pull Tabs,” “The Loud Guy at the End of the Bar Seems to Truly Believe He Can Play Quarterback for the Packers,“ and “I Realize It’s a Dive Bar, But They Really Should Do Something About That Bathroom.“ Molson Coors should be reaching out to collab very soon.

Preorders for Dive Bar Sounds began online on Thursday, but you haven’t missed the boat entirely. There will also be a limited number available for preorder on April 15th and 16th for $18 on their website.

If you’re not interested in collecting vinyl and just want to hear the album, you can check it out here. And if you’re not into the idea of music inspired by the barroom, you should still go visit your local independent record store today. Or any day, really. And, maybe pop into your favorite local independent dive on the way home to hear bar sounds performed live.