Review: Heartwork – Three Alley Cats and The Impossible Sky

Adam Grundy Oct 17, 2025

Goodbyes are always hard. Whether it’s breaking up with someone who you once thought was “the one”, or just saying goodbye to a friend you know you won’t see for quite some time, that feeling of the unknown of what comes next can be crippling. Heartwork have released their final album today called Three Alley Cats & The Impossible Sky that marks a proper send-off for the genre-blurring project of Dan O’Dell. O’Dell shared, “The main thing was to say everything I needed. Heartwork has been a huge part of my life, but it’s time to put it to bed and move on—after a well-earned break.” Three Alley Cats & The Impossible Sky marks an important last step in Heartwork’s artistic growth, and he says goodbye with grace on a record filled with plenty of twists and turns, and nods to the height of our scene during the early 00’s.

Adam Grundy Oct 13, 2025

The first new taste of music in more than ten years from Connecticut post-hardcore band, Wolves At Bay, showcases the band’s sense of urgency in re-capturing the magic from their earlier material. Dissolve is an eight-song album that adds in some textural and electronica sounds to round out the band’s attack and approach to their songwriting. Wolves at Bay shared: “This chapter marks a true rebirth. The connection between us has only grown stronger with time, and that bond is felt in every chord and lyric. Dissolve isn’t just about returning—it’s about starting again with purpose.” By putting a strong step forward in their “rebirth”, Wolves at Bay waste little time in returning to the rock scene at full speed ahead.

Adam Grundy Oct 8, 2025

The sixth studio album from Green Day, Warning, tends to get forgotten way too often, and yet it has all the makings of a killer record from the punk band. The LP finds Green Day at arguably their most melodic, and there’s no denying the catchiness of these songs that were self-produced by the band. Coming off of another breakthrough success in 1997’s Nimrod that spawned the smash single of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” that was literally everywhere when it was released, Green Day could’ve gone in a multitude of directions on this follow-up. There’s something really endearing about a band willing to take some creative freedom by self-producing their music at this stage of their career when their songwriting was truly blossoming at the right time. The set has now gone on to sell over 1 million units in the States, while selling over 3 million copies worldwide. Any other band would give their left arm for those numbers, but Green Day would brush off any talks of Warning being a commercial disappointment by going even bigger and bolder on their punk rock opera known as American Idiot in 2004. Warning deserves another look on its 25th anniversary, and it’s one of my favorite pop-punk records of all time.

Adam Grundy Oct 7, 2025

Reinvention has its way of taking many different forms. A reinvention of style or a new choice of clothing can lead someone else to think a person we thought we knew is trying out new things. When it comes to music, AFI have never shied away from their own reinvention as they have gone from album to album in their storied career. Their newest record, Silver Bleeds The Black Sun, once again finds the four-piece band on the precipice of another moving reinvention as they move away from some of the post-punk and electronica-tinged rock of Bodies and perhaps even what was found on AFI (The Blood Album). Instead, this latest taste of music leans into AFI’s ability to captivate through a variety of stylistic choices made strategically at the right moments in time to achieve the greatest impact. Silver Bleeds The Black Sun feels a bit like the encapsulation of all the styles AFI have been known for over their 34+ year career, and goes big into arena rock moments paired with gothic sensibilities to remind The Despair Faction that this is still the same band they fell in love with and have seen evolve with grace. Just when you think that you’ve got a handle on what AFI is and the sound you expect to hear on subsequent releases, the band turns expectations on their head and finds unique ways to continue their unwavering evolution.

Adam Grundy Oct 6, 2025

Thrice have never been strangers to taking a leap of faith in their career. From the early metal days of crowds shouting at them to “Play ‘Deadbolt!'” from The Illusion of Safety, to the risk/reward effort found on Vheissu, all put on a spin cycle throughout their stunning post-hiatus output that includes some of my favorite records of all time, Thrice keep on truckin’ along with veteran ease on Horizons/West. A direct sequel to the sound and direction the band took on Horizons/East, I feel like this second part is a better version of Thrice and finds them reaching deep into their bag of tricks while not losing the magic that made them such a fun band to be a fan of in the first place. “This is the first time we leaned into something that felt like a direct continuation, like a sequel to a previous album,” says frontman Dustin Kensrue. “A lot of this record is about parsing reality,” Kensrue explains. “We’re constantly being influenced by algorithms, by fear, by our own social echo chambers. Horizons/West tries to pull the curtain back on some of that. We’ve always just followed our curiosity, wherever it leads. We want to keep growing, exploring, and making something that feels honest to who we are right now.” By keeping their artistic integrity firmly intact, Thrice quickly showcase why they’re one of the best and consistent bands to ever grace our scene.

Adam Grundy Sep 26, 2025

18 years. There’s something a bit romantic about the amount of time that it took The Starting Line to follow up 2007’s brilliant LP of Direction. While turning 18 years old seems to signify our final path towards adulthood and leaving our youth behind, the reality behind this landmark age is that our lives are just beginning. Eternal Youth comes at just the right moment in time for our scene that is experiencing another surge and resurgence with bands like Motion City Soundtrack, Yellowcard, and now The Starting Line making new music again that is both worthy of their past legacy, while simultaneously moving the needle of creativity forward in their musical journey. The Starting Line first arrived in the pop-punk scene with Say It Like You Mean It, a widely adored scene staple via Drive-Thru Records, and yet it made sense for the band to outgrow that genre with stylistic choices made on Based on a True Story and eventually Direction. Eternal Youth signifies the band recognizing that the pop-punk genre is reminiscent of, as Kenny Vasoli put it in an interview I conducted with him in 2022: “I do know that we’re a pop punk band. And it’s a genre that sort of represents nostalgia and eternal youth, which I’m totally able to appreciate.” Wait, did Kenny drop the name of his returning LP for all the world to see and we all missed it until now? Eternal Youth to me represents the best version of The Starting Line, and I’m so happy that they’re back.

Adam Grundy Sep 26, 2025

There’s something to be said when a young band fully realizes their vision for their music right off the bat. Abandcalledlove has released their debut EP, called Thriving Season, that tackles the themes of resilience, addiction and recovery, paired with ultra-relatable elements like the complexities of relationships. The band was formed in early 2020 by Ryan Chandler Love (vocals/guitar/keyboards) and Ian Joshua Riley (guitar/production), while later adding into the fold Blake Aldridge (guitar), Brooks Roberts (bass) and Austin Yagle (drums). “Thriving Season is exactly what its title suggests,” Love explains. “It represents growth, struggle, and finally learning how to embrace yourself and your surroundings. Every song carries a piece of that journey, and I think listeners will connect with the vulnerability as much as the energy.” By putting a strong first step forward, Abandcalledlove have delivered the music that is sure to win over plenty of new fans willing to take a chance on “love.”

Adam Grundy Sep 25, 2025

Welcome to the pop-punk party, The Paradox! The band formed in June 2024, and is rounded out by vocalist/guitarist Eric Dangerfield, bassist Donald Bryant, lead guitarist/vocalist Xelan and drummer PC3. NSFW takes a blend of styles similar to Blink-182, Green Day, and Allister, all with a slick-sounding approach to their pop-punk attack. The Paradox are making an immediate impact on the scene with appearances at the latest iteration of the Vans Warped Tour and will be supporting All Time Low on their upcoming headlining tour of major venues across the U.S. While The Paradox lean heavily into the pop-punk bands they’re clearly influenced by here, NSFW is still a really fun debut from the Atlanta-based band.

Adam Grundy Sep 23, 2025

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.

Adam Grundy Sep 22, 2025

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.

Adam Grundy Sep 19, 2025

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.

Adam Grundy Sep 17, 2025

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.

Adam Grundy Sep 12, 2025

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.

Adam Grundy Sep 11, 2025

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.

Adam Grundy Sep 9, 2025

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.

Review: Heartwork – Three Alley Cats and The Impossible Sky

Review: Wolves At Bay – Dissolve

Review: Green Day – Warning

Review: AFI – Silver Bleeds The Black Sun

Review: Thrice – Horizons/West

Review: The Starting Line – Eternal Youth

Review: Abandcalledlove – Thriving Season

Review: The Paradox – NSFW

Review: Your Smith – The Rub

Review: Ray and Paul – Fading EP

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

Review: Twenty One Pilots – Breach

Review: Silverstein – Pink Moon

Review: The Fray – How To Save A Life

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