Liner Notes (August 20th, 2022)

Beach

This week’s newsletter has first impressions of the upcoming Death Cab for Cutie album, a realization I’ve been tying my shoelaces the “wrong” way, and some other thoughts on music and entertainment I consumed over the past week. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I enjoyed, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

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Review: Blindside – Silence

Usually you can point to certain moments in time when your taste in music changes to broader categories. For me, it came in the form of Blindside and their aggressive, yet melodic, third studio album Silence produced by veteran hit-maker Howard Benson (Hoobastank, Papa Roach). For quite a long time in high school, and even parts of the beginning of college, I was stuck in an Alt Rock and pop-punk phase that was tough to break free from for other genres of music. Enter Blindside and their hard-nosed guitar approach, semi-screamed vocals paired with melodic breakdowns, and my music world was turned upside down. Going down the rabbit hole of post-hardcore music led to my discovery of bands like Underoath and Thursday, and prepared me to be more open to different stylistic choices in our scene’s wide umbrella of artists that would appear on a Warped Tour lineup.

Silence is anything but a silent-sounding record. It’s aggressive, pulsating, and the tones of the guitars, bass, drums, and searing vocals made for a dynamic and sonically interesting band in Blindside. Whereas their previous effort A Thought Crushed My Mind left little room for melodic breakdowns, Silence had just the right combination of punishing guitars and screamed vocals mixed with a more radio-ready sound. The record would end up peaking at #83 on the Billboard 200.

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Interview: Todd Morse

Todd Morse

Recently I was able to catch up with vocalist/bassist Todd Morse (The Offspring/H2O) to discuss his latest solo work, including a great new single called “Everything Fun (Is Bad For Me).” In this in-depth interview, I asked Todd about his recent solo material, his current partnership with being a member of The Offspring, as well as the legacy of his punk band H2O. Todd Morse also shared the albums that have shaped the person and musician he is today. Morse has a new single that will be released this fall.

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Review: Don’t Panic – “Conquer Divide”

The latest taste of music from Phoenix Alt Rock band, Don’t Panic, sets off the alarm bells of urgency on ”Conquer Divide.” The song comes from their soon to be announced LP, 24, and follows their lead single “Time Machine,” and further showcases the band’s captivating songwriting. A little fun fact is that lead singer, Dylan Rowe, was in the mix to replace Flyleaf’s vocalist a few years back. Rowe shines all over this great-sounding single that cements Don’t Panic as a band to watch as the year unfolds.

The track opens with some well-placed synths, roaring guitars, and perfectly in-time drums before bleeding away for Rowe’s great vocals to lift the song to new heights. What Don’t Panic do best on this song is slow-building to a crowd-pleasing, anthemic chorus to keep the interest high in their brand of alternative, radio-ready rock. The bridge features a slow-downed section that allows the band to take a quick breather before exploding back into a wall of sound for the final chorus to leave a great taste in the audience’s mouth, and leave them clamoring for more. The guitar tones, in particular, on this song are very powerful and full-sounding and much like the Leonardo DiCaprio movie quote of, “You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention,” Don’t Panic have certainly made me a fan.

Beach Bums – “Overcast” (Song Premiere)

Beach Bums

Today is a great day to share the latest single from Beach Bums, called “Overcast.” The single is the title track from their recently released LP and showcases the depth to the band’s improved songwriting. Beach Bums shared:

Overcast, the album, focuses on the different writing styles that Beach Bums can tackle. To put it simply, this album is the most updated version of the MYCORE concept and sound. “Overcast,” the song, was the first song we wrote as the new five-piece lineup. The song speaks on conflict in a relationship. This can be left to interpretation, meaning you can relate it to friends, family, lovers, enemies, and everything in between.

If you’re ready for another great musical discovery, look no further than Beach Bums.

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