Liner Notes (April 16th, 2022)

Surf

This was a pretty damn good week for music. I share some thoughts on three of my favorite punk adjacent albums, as well as some commentary on other things I’ve been checking out over the past week. As always, there’s a playlist of ten songs I liked, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

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I look outside on this beautiful Friday evening as the sun hovers just above the city line, and I can feel summer right around the bend. The air aching for BBQs, long walks, sunglasses and flip-flops. I’ve spilled many words about Yellowcard’s ‘Ocean Avenue’ over the years and the impact it had on a young boy setting off for college in California. Leaving behind friends, family, and relationships led to the album’s themes seemingly mirroring my new life. But tonight, I’m reaching for the acoustic version of the album and the subdued renditions of these perfect pop-punk gems. If the original was made for sunny summer days, the acoustic soundtracks these warming nights — the change in weather peeking between a calming cool breeze. Cold hazy beer in hand, sitting here and remembering those college years, when all I wanted in my life is what I now have right here. A healthy life, a cold beer, and great music.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

#yellowcard #vinyl

Review: Midtown – Living Well Is The Best Revenge

In the crowded scene of pop-punk bands during the early 00’s, I admittedly didn’t give Midtown as much of a hard look as I should have in retrospect. I would usually enjoy the singles that the band put on the Warped Tour compilation that came out each year, or stumble across a friend’s MP3 of punk songs on their computer that caught my ear, but I didn’t get on this band’s bandwagon until much later. After seeing Living Well Is The Best Revenge at a record store for a criminally low price, I took a chance on the album that I’ve grown to love even more so today. This album was crafted under the direction of producer Mark Trombino (Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World), and he helped Midtown hone in on the best parts of their sound to create a record that should’ve received more love and media attention. In an interview with Jason during the AbsolutePunk days, Midtown went into detail about their disdain for Drive-Thru Records, and potentially may have stunted some of the label’s desire to push the album into more commercial outlets. Controversy aside, Midtown’s Living Well Is the Best Revenge should be considered one of the better pop-punk albums to come out of this period of time.

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Tim Feerick Passes Away

Dance Gavin Dance

Tim Feerick of Dance Gavin Dance has passed away:

We are absolutely devastated to share the news that our friend and bass player, Tim Feerick, passed away last night.

We ask that you respect our privacy and that of Tim’s family while we deal with this heartbreaking and untimely loss.

We will share further updates on Swanfest and our upcoming touring schedule as soon as we have them.