Review: Snarls – What About Flowers?

Those kids grow up fast, don’t they? Snarls have knocked all of the expectations for their band out of the park on their great new EP called, What About Flowers? On this Chris Walla-produced effort, this young band have absolutely floored me with their growth as songwriters, musicians, and people in general. When I last spoke with the band, they could hardly contain their excitement in discussing their new EP that comes shimmering through the speakers on its first listen. While their debut, Burst, found the band exploring what would “stick” best in their sound, What About Flowers? finds Snarls at their most focused and driven.

The first single released from this effort is the almost out of place song, “Fixed Gear,” that has a different guitar tone than the rest of the material that follows. In retrospect, it may have made more sense for this song to be a stand-alone single rather than kick-off this collection of songs, but it’s still a song I’m glad Snarls have birthed into this world. It features a great, driving beat, and is rounded out by complex guitar parts and beautifully harmonized and layered vocals. While the band was worried about more fans clinging to this sound of this track, rather than the rest of more synchronous material that follows, it’s still very much a song Snarls should be proud of creating.

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Review: Snail Mail – Valentine

Lindsey Jordan sounds like a young woman possessed. Possessed with purpose, direction, and a more rounded out sound than what came through the speakers of the bedroom pop classic debut album, Lush. Snail Mail, which is also comprised of bassist Alex Bass and drummer Ray Brown, sounds like a band pushing the boundaries of the “bedroom pop” label, and breaking down the damn door in the same process. Jordan has been put in the same vein as other artists like Soccer Mommy, Phoebe Bridgers, with even some comparisons to Fiona Apple, yet Snail Mail has found a way to break free of these similarities and created a lush (no pun intended) and rounded out sound on Valentine.

The Ellicott City, Maryland based artist is ready to explode out of the indie rock scene, and has already collected several high album ratings for Valentine from other music publications (and rightfully so). From the initial chords on the title track as Jordan croons, “Let’s go be alone / Where no one can see us, honey / Careful in that room / Those parasitic cameras, don’t they stop to stare at you,” it’s almost as if Snail Mail is making the conscious choice to leave that “room” that trapped her in the bedroom pop label, and leave that scene far behind as Jordan establishes herself as one of the better artists in the indie pop realm. As Jordan explodes into the chorus of, “So why’d you wanna erase me, darling valentine? / You always know where to find me when you change your mind,” it becomes crystal clear that she has the songwriting chops to elevate her game at just the right time.

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Review: Sellout – Dan Ozzi

Sellout

When I last chatted with author Dan Ozzi about his book called Sellout, I asked him, “What does the word “Sellout” mean to you today?” And the author barely blinked by telling me, “Probably nothing!…And so I saw that word still out going around a lot recently, but I don’t see it as much for musicians anymore, because there’s no money in music now, right? How do you sell out?” What I wasn’t expecting from that answer was for Dan Ozzi to be completely on point with his description on the state of the music scene in this comprehensive look at eleven bands’ trajectory into dipping their toes into the major labels’ waters.

The book is carefully and thoughtfully organized into 11 succinct chapters following each of the eleven bands’ major label debuts. As you can imagine from the back cover stating the albums covered in the book, not all of these records were major label success stories. In fact, only a handful of them could be considered to be the record that put those bands on the map and would change their lives for the better (or worse). The book is incredibly entertaining, well-researched and Ozzi lives up to the hype of describing himself as “America’s Only Music Writer.”

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Review: PLEXXAGLASS – Where Is Your God, Knowing What You Know Now?

Welcome to the world of Plexxaglass! This brooding collection of songs found on the singer’s debut is filled with raw emotion, great vocals, and killer production as well. Where is Your God, Knowing What You Know Now? is simply put an artistic statement to the boldest degree, as the nonbinary vocalist shines all over the LP. Led by the first song, “Lilith,” produced by Mike Shinoda, it becomes crystal clear that this artist is here for the long haul. The ultra-talented vocalist sways from one song to the next with veteran poise not normally seen this early on in a career.

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Review: Incubus – Morning View

It’s amazing what a little visual perspective can do for a band. While many of the 90’s Alt-Rock and nu-metal scene were sledging away in the studio, Incubus decided to create an environment most conducive to the music they wanted to create. The band decided to live in a large, spacious house in Malibu, California. This would be the last record made with bassist Alex “Dirk” Katunich, and he described in interviews that the band, “tried to do that for at least the writing portion of Make Yourself, but we didn’t have enough clout at the time. The idea was to not feel as if you were driving [somewhere] to work on a record. You could just get up and it was a natural extension of your day.” Vocalist Brandon Boyd shared that sentiment in other ways by saying, “every time we’d pull into the street we had the view of the ocean and Pacific Coast Highway. I got a big creative boner every time I’d show up to the house.” And from that, Incubus would give birth to the record now known as Morning View. If Make Yourself was an introduction to the sound that the band would start to round out their repertoire for their career, Morning View was them becoming true artists in every sense of the word.

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Review: Sweep Echo – Moments Before The Wind

The New Jersey based emo band called Sweep Echo is really onto something great on Moments Before the Wind, an EP that was just released and is filled with stylistic, brooding hooks and that sound that is inescapably familiar for those who grew up during the emo boom of the 00’s. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Dan Holden, guitarist Eddie Flynn, bassist Vince Mannino, and drummer Ty Perle, Sweep Echo does a great job of putting the best parts of the genre into a three song collection filled with purpose.

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Review: Smallpools – Life in a Simulation

After countless stand-alone singles, EPs, and relentless touring, Smallpools have finally returned with their proper sophomore release called Life in a Simulation. The pop-rock band consisting of vocalist/keyboardist Sean Scanlon, drummer Beau Kuther, and guitarist/producer Mike Kamerman released their debut, Lovetap! in 2015, which seems like forever in regards to following up a popular debut. The marketing strategy for Life in a Simulation was fairly unique in that many of the singles released from the record slowly trickled out over the last year or so, including a great collaboration with Morgxn on the song “Slowdown.” While I feel the best may still be to come for Smallpools, this album definitely feels like a rebirth and a celebration of the uncertainty to the days that lie ahead.

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Review: We Are Scientists – Huffy

After recently celebrating the anniversary of their debut album, With Love & Squalor, with a comprehensive and successful tour of the states before the pandemic hit, We Are Scientists have returned with their seventh studio album. Huffy sounds like a band refreshed, re-focused, and re-energized for the future that lays in front of them. Filled with lush pop hooks and brilliant harmonies, We Are Scientists are doing their best to use this momentum to continue to stick around in the limelight. If this band can capitalize on this great-sounding record, it may be time for more of us to put our trust back into scientists.

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Review: Dave Grohl – The Storyteller

Dave Grohl - The Storyteller

Dave Grohl is a fucking legend. That’s not hyperbole. He literally has made some of the most recognizable rock songs in my generation, and still continues to crank out memorable tracks, whether it be with Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures, guest spotting with Queens of the Stone Age, or releasing an opus of instrumental bliss under his own name, called Play. New to the stage is Dave Grohl the author, who has crafted an equally brilliant memoir entitled The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music. What you may not know about Mr. Grohl is his ability to convey such a wide range of emotions in his writing. From the heartbreaking loss of close friends in his life, to the exuberant highs of getting married and having three daughters, all mixed in with his unique ability to write about his time in music with such fervor and passion for being a part of music history. I was not planning to read this memoir in one sitting from cover to cover, but that’s exactly what happened. And much like the stories outlined beautifully in The Storyteller, everything packs purpose, and lessons are learned along the way that makes the journey more important than the end or the start.

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Review: New Found Glory – Radiosurgery

Coming off of the moderate success of their sixth studio album, Not Without A Fight, the veteran pop-punk rockers chose trusted producer Neal Avron to oversee these sessions that would become Radiosurgery. New Found Glory released this album under Epitaph Records and would be their last studio album with their disgraced, original guitarist. Radiosurgery, for whatever reason, seems to get unfair treatment when comparing it to other NFG albums in their discography. While most wrote it off as standard fodder from the Florida pop-punk band, there really are some true gems on this album that is a satisfying listening experience from start to finish. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, but only sold under 11,000 copies on the Billboard 200 charts (opening at #35). Radiosurgery would eventually peak at #26 on the Billboard 200 charts, and still contains many set staples in NFG’s live performances due to its upbeat nature.

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Review: The Way Down Wanderers – More Like Tomorrow

Coming off of the success of their 2019 breakthrough record, Illusions, folk rockers The Way Down Wanderers have returned with their sophomore effort entitled More Like Tomorrow. This five-member band from Peoria, Illinois have made an album worthy of the heart that they affectionately used to cover this collection of ten songs brimming with purpose and professional poise. The band is unique in that they have two lead songwriters/vocalists in Collin Krause and Austin Krause-Thompson, and yet their combination of tackling core themes like addiction, relationships, and living life to the fullest never seems forced or appear to be a struggle between the two core songwriters. More Like Tomorrow is a nice encapsulation of this period of time in our lives where we search for our “true north” and let go of the outside noise that distracts us from living our best lives.

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Review: PHNTMS – “Paper Flowers”

PHNTMS - "Paper Flowers"

I’m thrilled to introduce everyone to PHNTMS, a great female-fronted pop-rock band from Philadelphia, PA that seems poised for breakout success. Their latest single, “Paper Flowers,” is a bombastic blast of alternative rock with a pop polish that is ready for radio dominance. The band has opened for huge bands like Kings of Leon, The 1975, and Bastille, and it’s clearly evident of why these bands would chose PHNTMS to get their crowds ready for a great night. Their yet to be announced EP should only further solidify the direction the band is going for on this great-sounding song.

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Review: The Slang – Divide

The funny thing about debut albums is that they’re filled with so much promise, blissful ignorance, and a full beating heart filled with the utmost purpose. Washington, DC’s The Slang are able to capture that early magic that bands would kill for at this stage of their career. Divide, in a lot of ways, investigates where we are as a society today, but it’s vibrant guitar tones and uplifting choruses keep the material from sinking into the abyss. When I last caught up with the band for an interview, the band appeared to be completely flattered by my early praise of their album that I got an advance copy of. After explaining to The Slang (comprised of John Bobo and Felix Nieto) just how great their debut is, I hope I was able to instill some new-found confidence in this band that I feel everyone should turn their immediate focus onto.

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Review: Thrice – Horizons/East

The word that most closely comes to mind when talking about Thrice is consistency. The second word that I most closely associate with this legendary band on their 11th studio album, Horizons/East, is variety. They simply do not make the same record twice; a true marking of an artist that is uncomfortable with the comfort that comes with creating similar sounding material. On Horizons/East, Thrice are able to embrace the change that comes with pushing themselves to their artistic limits, and much like that famous Lindsay Lohan meme; the limit does not exist.

This picturesque record opens with the sprawling “The Color of the Sky,” as Dustin Kensrue sets the stage with, “My first and foremost memory / Is staring up in wonder at the wall / It circumscribed the city / They said beyond it nothing dwelt at all / But I came to wonder if the stories all were true / So one night I made my mind up / I resolved that I would find a passage through” before drummer Riley Breckenridge explodes into one of my favorite drum fills in recent memory. Kensrue’s closing lyrics of “I don’t know the way, but I know that I belong out here / On this journey that I never thought I’d make / Setting out across a new frontier / A new horizon with each eager step I take,” seems to encapsulate everything that I love about his top-notch storytelling on my favorite opening tracks in their discography since Vheissu’s “Image of the Invisible.”

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Review: Right On, Kid – Life Is A Movie

Right On, Kid

If you’re looking for solid pop-punk with a heartbeat, you’ve come to the right place. Right On, Kid are a five-member band from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and have crafted an album worthy of early recognition and praise. Their first EP called When Words Are Enough announced their arrival to the scene, whereas Life Is A Movie welcomes them into the fold with open arms. This album is filled with everything we all love about the genre: great sounding hooks, uplifting vocals, well thought out lyrics, and plenty of excellent drumming. With a sound similar to Hit the Lights, Mayday Parade, and All Time Low, you may need to thank us later for introducing you to your latest pop-punk obsession.

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