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Liner Notes (July 22nd, 2023)

Posted by Jason Tate
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Another week. Another newsletter. You know the drill by now. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

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A Few Things

  • I had every intention of sitting down and writing last weekend, but then life got in the way. Errands to run and family BBQs to attend, and then suddenly, the weekend had disappeared on me. As we sit here at the end of July, this entire summer is disappearing on me. Not to get all “time howaboutthat” on you, but … it sure does seem to be flying by at the moment. At least it’s only in the mid-80s this weekend and not sweltering.

Sponsor

Ryan Terrigno recently released two new songs “I Can Still Break Your Heart” (a love song, despite the title) and “Get Lost” (indie-pop anthem with stomp-clap choruses). Both of these songs come from the upcoming album Alive & Well, produced by Alex Dezen. Ryan has a long history in the music industry and, after taking some time away to start a family, is just now finding his way back to making music.

In Case You Missed It

Music Thoughts

  • My favorite release of the week is the new EP from Yellowcard. I wrote down my initial thoughts a few weeks ago and stand by everything there. I adore this EP. Every single song. It’s such a fantastic encapsulation of the band’s ability to write relatable summer anthems. I liked how they talked about writing songs that felt like a nod to their past without sounding forced. They nailed it. “Hiding in the Light” already feels like a classic in a catalog of hits.
  • MxPx released their new single this week and put up pre-orders for their upcoming album. I’m still working out thoughts on the new album and how much I want to write about it. I haven’t written a full review of an MxPx album since 2007, and there’s part of me that is itching to take a swing at it. Reviewing a Blink-182 and MxPx album in the same year would be fun. My first impressions are that this release continues the trajectory of their previous one. MxPx writes great MxPx songs. And they do it with a fun confidence of independence. I get the impression that the band feels empowered to write the songs they feel like writing, and the results are a collection of pop-punk songs by one of the best bands ever to make pop-punk music. As a lifelong fan, this one gets two thumbs up from me.
  • 408 released an EP a couple of weeks ago, and it’s my favorite thing they’ve done yet. They’re a newer pop-punk band that I’ve had my eye on for a while, but I have been waiting for them put it all together. This EP is a step closer. I’m optimistic about their next full length.
  • Magnolia Park has two new EPs coming next month (with a full length to follow in the fall). The EPs take on two sides of the band’s sound. One being more bubbly pop-punk and the other being the “dark” version. Both contain some great songs. They must be one of the more prolific artists putting out music lately.
  • Another EP worth a look at is the new one from Savings. It’s got a little more of an emo flair to their sound. The documentary on the EP is pretty cool too. And the new Charlotte Sands EP is pretty fun.
  • I am pretty sure I’ve written before that no one writes sadder songs than Spanish Love Songs, and that trend continues on No Joy. It’s simultaneously the most “god damn that’s tough to listen to” album I’ve heard so far this year and also, in my opinion, their best album yet. There’s a space in this new collection of songs that lets them breathe. I found their past albums quite good but hard to listen to at times. I mean, the subject matter means I need to be in a certain mood to listen to this too, but that’s a little different. This feels like an album I’ll return to again in the fall, and it’ll pummel me throughout the winter.
  • Gaslight Anthem announced their new album this week and shared the new single featuring Bruce Springsteen. This is so in the Venn diagram of things Jason likes. It’s kinda too on the nose. Musically? Awesome. Lyrically? Brian Fallon is on some next-level shit with lines like, “You just remind me of the nights of smoke and dirty jokes / Darkened rooms with lonely ghosts / And they were beautiful some time ago / But time keeps rollin’ us on.” Bruce? Sounds great and gets to shine on an entire verse. Did I pre-order this immediately? Of course, I did. Am I worried that both new songs sound recorded/mixed in a way that fans will be talking about until the end of time? Um. I am. To this day, no conversation about Jimmy Eat World’s Damage happens without it being brought up. The last Bleachers album still confounds me. The producer talk dominates a bunch of Menzingers threads. And I’m trying not to be worried. But I went from spinning Brian Fallon’s Sleepwalkers and The Gaslight Anthem’s Get Hurt over the past few days (both hold up exceptionally well for me, and I’ll die on that hill) to listening to the two new songs and they … lack a punch and feel constrained. I’m reserving judgment until I can hear the whole album and how the entire thing breathes and flows because I thought Local Honey sounded fine, but there’s something tempering expectations and gnawing at me just a bit at the moment.
  • Carly Rae’s upcoming B-side release gives me the same feeling her previous B-side albums have: there is always a handful of excellent songs and many others that make me think, “Yep, those are b-sides!” Some fun stuff, but only a little that gets to the highs on the proper album. “Psychedelic Switch” and “So Right” are my clear standouts.
  • The Band Camino’s new album comes out in a few weeks. They occupy an interesting space in the music industry, and I feel like they’re still searching for that breakout hit. The new album plays in the Walk the Moon/The Faim/maybe a little bit of The Maine territory. It’s a fun summer pop-rock album, but I still have yet to hear the song from them.
  • Strange Ranger’s new album epitomizes a late summer night indie rock album. There will be a night in the near future when I’m sitting here having a drink with that playing on the speakers in the living room. Right after the AC has clicked off, the ice in my glass is a little melty. And it’s going to hit so perfectly.
  • The Maine’s cover of Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” is incredible. I can’t believe we are already so close to their new album’s release date. I also can’t believe I haven’t heard it yet. Definitely sitting at the top of my most anticipated for the rest of the year right now.
  • Letter Kills new single sounds so much like it could be a b-side from The Bridge that if you had told me this was a long-lost song from that era, I would 100% believe you. I had always wished that band got a shot at a second album, and hearing them talk about the shuffles at the label after the release of their first album and never feeling like it got a chance is too familiar a tale.

The Stats: Over the past week, I listened to 31 different artists, 60 different albums and 520 different tracks (608 scrobbles). My most played artist was The Beatles and my most played album was Carly Rae’s upcoming b-side album, No Joy. Here is my Top 9 from last week, and you can follow me on Apple Music and/or Last.fm.

Entertainment Thoughts

  • Apple TV+ is having a nice moment in the Tate household this week. The first season of Silo was incredible, Platonic is a lot of fun, and the first few episodes of Hijack we’ve watched have us completely hooked.
  • I don’t really know what to say about The Flash. It was fine, I guess? Getting to see 1989 Batman do some cool stuff was kinda fun? The child in me enjoyed getting to see that one more time. And then there was stuff like the CGI on the capes being so bad I laughed out loud. I dunno, the hot and spicy takes get the clicks and I just found it … alright.

Random and Personal Stuff

  • There’s not much else on my mind this week. It’s July 22nd, which is one of my favorite release days in music ever. So, maybe I’ll order some Indian takeout and spin those a few times.

Ten Songs

Here are ten songs that I listened to and loved this week. Some may be new, some may be old, but they all found their way into my life during the past seven days.

  1. Yellowcard – Hiding in the Light
  2. The Gaslight Anthem – History Books
  3. The Maine – Cruel Summer
  4. Letter Kills – Right Where We Belong
  5. Savings – American Psycho
  6. MxPx – Stay Up All Night
  7. 408 – Generational
  8. The Band Camino – Last Man in the World
  9. PVRIS – Hype Zombies
  10. Strange Ranger – Rain So Hard

This playlist is available on Spotify and Apple Music.

Community Watch

The trending and popular threads in our community this week include:

The most liked post in our forums last week was this one by Craig Manning in the “The Menzingers – Hello Exile (October 4, 2019)” thread.

Previous editions of Liner Notes can be found here.

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