Review: Your Smith – The Rub

Your Smith - The Rub

It’s a bit hard to believe that The Rub is the debut full-length record from Your Smith, since she’s been making music for several years. Alas, the long-awaited full artistic statement from the talented songwriter has arrived. After a series of events (the COVID-19 pandemic, starting a family) that led Caroline to step away from the music scene after her excellent last release, 2019’s Wild Wild Woman EP, The Rub finds Your Smith at her most focused, with a knack for crisp and picturesque songwriting. The Rub was recorded with a band at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, MN, and the record is largely centered around the theme of coming home and re-connecting with the people that make our lives the most worthwhile. The Rub tends to “rub” off on listeners in a great way, and it’s an album that deserves its moment in time.

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Interview: Louis Posen of Hopeless Records

Louis Posen

Recently I was able to schedule a Zoom call with the owner of Hopeless Records, Louis Posen, to discuss his recent partnership with Fat Wreck Chords. In this interview, I asked Louis about how he will be honoring the legacy of Fat Wreck Chords in upcoming vinyl reissues, his favorite Hopeless Records’ bands and albums, and how he navigated a career path in the music industry. You can check out the Hopeless Records catalog here.

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Review: Ray and Paul – Fading EP

Ray and Paul - Fading EP

An indie band, comprised of the San Francisco-area brothers of Ray and Paul, have released their latest taste of music called Fading. The EP is brimming with the stylistic choices of surfer rock, paired with garage rock, all shimmering under the careful eyes of producer John Goodmanson (Weezer, Pavement), with additional tracks produced by Jarvis Taveniere. “These six songs reflect the past five years of our lives—love, heartbreak, sadness, doubt, confusion, and pain,” the duo of Ray and Paul shared. “They’ve shaped who we are and changed how we see the world and our music. We’re so grateful to finally share this with you and excited for what’s ahead.” With a slick sound that fits well in the same realm as Phantom Planet, Ash and Rooney, Ray and Paul showcase why they’re turning so many heads in 2025 and beyond.

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Review: Motion City Soundtrack – The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World

It’s so great to have Motion City Soundtrack back and making music again. Panic Stations was their last taste of music that the band offered, back in 2015, and now after the long hiatus, MCS sounds as refreshed and re-energized than they arguably have ever been. The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World feels like the most logical jumping off point from Motion City Soundtrack’s adored 2010 LP of My Dinosaur Life, and front-man Justin Pierre still remains his quirky and captivating self on this 11-song set produced by Sean O’Keefe (Fall Out Boy, Punchline). “I think that if you look at a lot of our past records, it’s about ‘What’s wrong? What am I not getting right? Why do I feel fucking crazy? Why can’t I figure this out’…and I figured it out,” front-man Justin Pierre admits. “It’s almost like I felt I didn’t have an identity [in the past] and now by working through the hard stuff, I know who I am.” By finding comfort in the past noise and figuring out the person he wants to be moving forward, Justin Pierre and his other four bandmates have crated a record that not only lives up to the band’s legacy, but provides a reinvigorated look at Motion City Soundtrack as a whole.

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Stella and the Very Messed – “Keds With No Laces” (Video Premiere)

Stella and the Very Messed

Today is a great day to share the latest single from Austin Alt-rock band, Stella and the Very Messed, called “Keds With No Laces.” The song comes from the band’s sophomore LP, that dropped today via Double Helix Records, called Big Familiar. This band blends crisp hooks, lush melodies, and offbeat humor with ‘90s alt-rock and modern indie. Think Veruca Salt meets XTC, with flashes of Paramore and Squeeze. If you’re enjoying the new single, you can stream the rest of Big Familiar here.

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Taylor Acorn – “Crashing Out” (Video Premiere)

Taylor Acorn

Today is a great day to share the newest single and music video from Taylor Acorn called “Crashing Out.” The song comes from Taylor’s new LP, Poster Child, that releases on October 24th via Fearless Records. Taylor Acorn will be supporting her new record with some recently announced headlining dates. If you’re enjoying the music video, please consider pre-ordering Poster Child here.

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Diane King – “Sky” (Album Stream)

Diane King

Today I’m so excited to bring everyone an exclusive early listen to the new album from Diane King, called Sky. The album is largely centered around this singer-songwriter’s battle with cancer, and her experience in pushing forward through her diagnosis, treatment and recovery. Diane King quickly showcases her vibrant qualities as a songwriter on Sky, and if you’re enjoying the stream, please consider purchasing the album that officially releases tomorrow here.

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Review: Twenty One Pilots – Breach

It’s both hard and easy to believe that Twenty One Pilots are at the point in their career where they have now released eight studio albums. The band have been scene mainstays since being signed to Fueled By Ramen records in 2012, and yet many casual fans don’t realize that Twenty One Pilots also released two other LPs in advance of their major label signing. Breach comes storming onto the rock scene brimming with a similar sound to TOP’s arsenal, and the new record is catchy, familiar, and filled with several key thematic callbacks to keep fans engaged. It’s been just over a year since Twenty One Pilots released their seventh studio album, Clancy, and Breach feels more confident, urgent, and moves the needle even further in a positive direction in TOP’s creative approach to blending so many genres in their music. The set was produced by Paul Meany, Mike Elizondo, and the band’s vocalist Tyler Joseph. The set was preceded by three singles in “The Contract,” “Drum Show” and most recently, the sprawling, bass-heavy opener of “City Walls” that was accompanied by a long-form music video of the five minute-plus song. Breach ultimately ends up being one of the most thrilling records, if not the most important album, since Twenty One Pilots first formed in 2009.

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Diane King – “Sky” (Song Premiere)

Diane King

Today is a great day to share an early listen to the new single from Diane King, called “Sky”. The song is the title track from King’s forthcoming LP, Sky, that hits all streaming services this Friday. This key song from Diane King reaches for the heavens and hits its intended feel with veteran ease. If you’re enjoying the single, please consider pre-ordering the new album of Sky here, and stay tuned for the full album stream later on this week.

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Interview: Foreign Air

Foreign Air

This past month I was able to schedule an in-person interview with Foreign Air before they played a headlining show at The Atlantis (venue directly next to the 9:30 Club). In this interview, I asked the band about the writing and recording process of their excellent third album, Such That I May Glow, that recently came out, and how they stay grounded given all the “noise” that’s dominating today’s news cycle. Such That I May Glow is up on all streaming services here.

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Review: Silverstein – Pink Moon

When I first got wind of Silverstein deciding to release two albums in 2025, the fan in me was excited to see what the band would cook up during these sessions. The band worked closely together during the recording sessions in Joshua Tree, where they would look at the vastness and emptiness of the desert to put the framework behind the first part, Antibloom. On the second part of this ambitious double album project, Pink Moon resolidifies the fact that Silverstein are doing the whole post-hardcore, emo, and screamo genres a big favor by releasing such dynamic music during this era of the band that surpasses my wildest expectations from their debut in 2003, and is taking a well-deserved victory lap in their 25th year of existence. Pink Moon was first described to me by vocalist Shane Told, as having “a couple songs on the record are really kind of a throwback sort of sound where they could have been on Discovering the Waterfront.” This immediately piqued my interest in the second half of the project as a whole, and when I finally wrapped my ears around it for the first time, it solidified my feeling that Antibloom and Pink Moon are some of the band’s best and most urgent works of art to date.

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Interview: Indecent Behavior

Indecent Behavior

This past month, I was able able to schedule a Zoom call with Henrik, the lead vocalist/guitarist of a German pop-punk band called Indecent Behavior. In this interview, we chatted about the band’s forthcoming new LP, Sick, that will be released on September 26th via Long Branch Records. Henrik shared the meaning behind the album title and artwork, plus key lessons the band have learned from touring with punk veterans Zebrahead and Neck Deep.

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Review: The Fray – How To Save A Life

The Fray - How To Save A Life

We all know the song by heart by now. “Step one, you say we need to talk / He walks, you say, ‘Sit down, it’s just a talk’ / He smiles politely back at you / You stare politely right on through,” are the lyrics fully ingrained in my head from the debut studio album from The Fray and their break-though single of the same name. How To Save A Life got a bit of an unfair shakedown from critics upon its release nearly 20 years ago today. Some critics went as far as saying the band “lacked originality”, but you have to remember what was going on in the Alt Rock scene at that time. Coldplay had already solidified themselves as major players with their first two records, Radiohead were releasing game-changing records left and right, and The Fray were coming onto the “soft rock” scene budding with promise and starry-eyed vision for their piano-laced music. How To Save A Life has since been certified double platinum by the RIAA, and it also became one of the all-time best-selling digital albums of that decade.

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Review: Boys Like Girls – The Homecoming (Live From the MGM Music Hall at Fenway Park)

The Boston-based pop-punk band, Boys Like Girls, released their first official live album yesterday called The Homecoming (Live From the MGM Music Hall at Fenway Park), and it has just about everything you’d want from a live recording. Hit-filled setlist, check. Stadium-ready anthems from an adoring crowd, check. Surprise cover songs that reflect on the band’s humble beginnings to being major acts today, check. My first spin of the record left me with a big smile on my face as I couldn’t help but think about how far this pop-punk band has come, and re-solidified themselves as major players in the music scene as a whole. The repeat spins of the album reminded me of the magic that happens when a band leans further into that trademark sound that made me fall in love with their music in the first place, and delivers all over a career-spanning collection that is filled with over 30 tracks that clock in just under the two-hour mark, yet breezes by like no time has passed at all. It’s that enjoyable of a live record, and I’m so happy that Boys Like Girls have released this set.

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