Interview: Infant Island

On Friday, Infant Island will release one of the best records of 2024. “But Drew,” you say, “there’s only been 12 days of the year so far!” Trust me, I just know. Obsidian Wreath has been four years in the making from Fredericksburg, VA’s Infant Island. The quintet’s debut album on Touché Amoré’s Jeremy Bolm’s Secret Voice imprint (the band’s third full-length album overall), Obsidian Wreath captures the how desolate and dark our modern world is against a furious, scathing back drop of hardcore, screamo, and post-rock, as the album’s ten tracks paint a picture of survival, anxiety, and community. I was fortunate to speak with vocalist Daniel Kost, guitarist Alexander Rudenshiold, and bassist Kyle Guerra about the album’s themes, creation, and more.

Drew Beringer Aug 23, 2023

Earlier this month, Chris Farren released his latest full length album Doom Singer. The propulsive power-pop record features Farren’s biggest yet most vulnerable songs ever, as he tackles nagging self-doubts and shortcomings all while the world continually falls apart around us. The addition of Macseal drummer Frankie Impastato and the production from Jay Som’s Melina Duterte, Farren was able to take his soaring choruses and musical idiosyncrasies to new levels, resulting in one of 2023’s best records. Below Chris and I discuss our favorite songs on the record, the making of Doom Singer, the creative process behind his music videos, and Buddy.

Drew Beringer Nov 7, 2022

Drowse has delivered some of the best electronic and experimental music over the past few years dating back to their 2018 Flenser debut Cold Air. Now four years later with death, pandemic, and intense introspection all occurring in between, Kyle Bates is back with Drowse’s stunning fourth album, Wane Into It. As challenging as it is dark, Wane Into It explores how we curate the memories we want others to remember us by and how the internet plays an integral role in that. It’s a hyperrealistic and surreal look into loss, death, and all the anxiety that gets wrapped up into it. Today we are proud to premiere the final taste of Wane Into It before it releases on November 11th – the penultimate track “Three Faces (Cyanoacrylate).” A gentle acoustic strum paces the eight-and-a-half minute track before descending into sinister tones, all while Bates airy vocals chronicle what we lose due to distance and memory. But before we get into that, Kyle and I discussed the new record, what spurred some of the themes on Wane Into It, and ultimately what he hopes this record accomplishes. Check that out and “Three Faces (Cyanoacrylate)” below.

Drew Beringer Aug 26, 2022

It’s been four years since Pianos Become The Teeth have released any new music. But after scrapping one record and reuniting with producer Kevin Bernsten, the Baltimore quintet is back with their most challenging and immersive record yet, Drift. A 37-minute journey through the night, Drift exhibits the most thrilling musical work from the band yet, ranging from pulsating tracks like “The Tricks” and “Genevieve” to murkier, groovier numbers like “Skiv” and “Mouth.” I chatted with guitarist Mike York about the inspiration and creation of Drift, the unique sonic dynamics of the record, and more.

Drew Beringer Aug 5, 2022

Even though it’s been 15 years since Armor For Sleep released a new full-length, Ben Jorgensen never buried the idea of another record from the New Jersey emo-adjacent legends. After a handful of successful 15 16-year anniversary shows for their second record What To Do When You Are Dead, Armor For Sleep reunited with Equal Vision Records to release the band’s fourth album The Rain Museum, a 12-track collection that pushes the signature AFS sound to new boundaries. I recently sat down with Jorgensen to discuss the origin of the record, working with Equal Vision again, the emo revival, and the lasting legacy of What To Do When You Are Dead.

Drew Beringer Oct 21, 2021

It’s been five long years but the new gods of Buffalo are set to return with their most complete and powerful album yet. Radical – Every Time I Die’s ninth full-length – features 16 of the band’s most personal, vulnerable, and heaviest songs yet with a couple of new wrinkles and twists thrown in for good measure. Vocalist Keith Buckley has been to hell and back and has lived to tell it, as the veteran frontman took time out of his busy schedule to cut it up with me about sitting on the record during a pandemic, his newfound writing style, and Malignant.

Drew Beringer May 31, 2021

Like many artists this past year, 2020 was a challenging one for Mannequin Pussy. Just a few months removed from releasing Patience – their first record for Epitaph Records – the world was shut down by COVID-19. After discovering that creating new music in a socially distant type of way wasn’t working, the Philadelphia-based trio booked time at Will Yip’s Studio 4 to spark some creativity. What emerged was the Perfect EP – a five-track collection that showcases the best of Mannequin Pussy’s sound while also displaying a tenderness within. From the booming passion of “Control” and “To Lose You” to the abrasive thrash of the title track and “Pigs is Pigs,” Mannequin Pussy continues to evolve their style in incredibly special and diverse ways. Below, guitarist/vocalist Missy Dabice and I discuss being creative during a global pandemic, working with Yip, and “Drunk II” (of course).

Drew Beringer Mar 8, 2021

It’s been quite a long journey for Stevie Knipe to release their third album, Driver. After calling out royalty discrepancies and other issues with former label Tiny Engines and being granted the release from their contract, a pandemic shut down our world and further delayed the release of the album. But armed with a new perspective and a new label in Epitaph Records along with the support system of their partner (and drummer) Olivia Battell and guitarist Allegra Eidinger, Knipe is ready to unleash Driver to the masses – a record that elevates Adult Mom’s knack for infectious and poignant indie-rock to new levels. Here, Knipe and I discuss Driver’s sonic diversity, being a non-binary role model, and our favorite show Grey’s Anatomy.

Drew Beringer Mar 4, 2021

Tigers Jaw’s new album I Won’t Care How You Remember Me serves as a re-introduction to the Scranton, PA band. For starters, guitarist Colin Gorman and drummer Teddy Roberts were made permanent members, solidifying the band as a quartet once again. But the biggest wrinkle was including Gorman and Roberts in the songwriting mix with original members Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins – fostering a more lively and collaborative setting for the record and resulting in Tigers Jaw’s most ambitious and personal album in their discography. Tracks like “Can’t Wait Forever” and “Lemon Mouth” showcase the new writing dynamic while the title track serves as an all-time highlight – a song that uses its slow build and Andy Hull guest vocals to set the tone of the record. “I think having a group dialogue about each song, and what ideas we had to make each one special and have a distinctive place on the record, was super beneficial to creating something that sounds fresh but still feels authentically like Tigers Jaw” says Walsh. Below, we discussed working with Will Yip, how the Andy Hull collaboration came about, and I Won’t Care How You Remember Me’s writing process.

Drew Beringer Jul 2, 2020

You never expect your record about the impending apocalypse will actually release when the entire world is on fire but that’s where The Lawrence Arms find themselves. On July 17th, Chicago’s finest return with Skeleton Coast – the trio’s first collection of new material’s since 2014’s impressive Metropole. It’s been a long six years since then and the new record reflects that – as a creeping dread is felt throughout its fourteen tracks (as opener “Quiet Storm” bluntly puts it, “Listen closely: Some horsemen are calling. Lay back, the night sky is falling”). Skeleton Coast is a wild ride featuring the best work of the band’s career. I spoke with bassist/vocalist Brendan Kelly about recording Skeleton Coast in the middle of the Texas desert, being inspired by the Beastie Boys and Outkast, and how this record is the perfect record for this unprecedented times.

Drew Beringer May 20, 2020

On June 5th, The Ghost Inside will triumphantly return with their self-titled fifth album – an eleven track journey featuring the heaviest and most poignant work of the band’s illustrious career. It’s the Los Angeles band’s first release in nearly six years and it’s a record that almost never existed as the path towards The Ghost Inside was littered with tragedy, pain, and self-doubt. On the morning of November 19, 2015, the band’s tour bus collided head on with a tractor trailer while headed west to Mesa, Arizona on U.S. Highway 180. The drivers of both vehicles, Greg Hoke and Steven Cunningham, lost their lives in the accident, while vocalist Jonathan Vigil, bassist Jim Riley, guitarists Zach Johnson and Chris Davis, and drummer Andrew Tkaczyk suffered life-changing injuries (Tkaczyk lost one of his legs following an initial ten-day coma). After facing a lengthy recovery period, the band took time to get into the right head space to figure out if they wanted to continue as The Ghost Inside. Realizing that this tragedy is the precise moment to put their inspirational lyrics to the test, the quintet returned to a sold-out performance last summer at Los Angeles’ The Shrine, promising new music soon. That moment is now and I was fortunate enough to speak with Andrew about the record, the moving visual for their first single “Aftermath,” and creating the record the band was always meant to make.

Interview: Infant Island

Interview: Chris Farren

Interview: Drowse – Three Faces (Cyanoacrylate) (Song Premiere + Interview)

Interview: Mike York of Pianos Become The Teeth

Interview: Ben Jorgensen of Armor For Sleep

Interview: Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die

Interview: Missy Dabice of Mannequin Pussy

Interview: Adult Mom

Interview: Ben Walsh of Tigers Jaw

Interview: Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms

Interview: The Ghost Inside