The Pleasure Merchants are out of Bakersfield, California, and if that name rings a bell, it should — the locals have known it since the '80s and '90s. After 25 years away, they picked the guitars back up and started putting out singles again, steady as clockwork, on Park Way Records. No reunion cash-in, no nostalgia act — just a band that wasn't done yet.

The sound is alternative-leaning indie rock, guitars up front, songs that say something. "Rest In Me" is about togetherness as a daily practice — the late-night talk, the reliable presence, the small stuff that holds people together. "Bleed Me" is the one climbing right now, landing on the Bandwagon Radio Network chart and getting spins on indie stations, Christian and secular alike.

These aren't newcomers learning the ropes. They were cutting tracks back in '91, made their second album Rhyme or Reason in the mid-'90s, and the writing team of Michael Lapham and Brian Boozer is still the engine.

Since the comeback it's been one single after another — "Free Again," "Free Me Now," "Runaways With You," "RISE" — each one landing a little harder than the last.

Right now they're the rare comeback that actually earns the second act, with new listeners finding them every week. A band that waited 25 years to come back isn't in a hurry, and that's exactly why you should pay attention to what they do next.

The Pleasure Merchants, look a band walks away for 25 years and comes back with songs this honest? That's indie to the bone. No machine, no hype — just people who never stopped believing in the songs. Proud to have them on the hub.

- Rob | The INDIE Musician