Marvel’s ‘Iron Fist’ Is Ok, but Never Great

Deanna Chapman Mar 22, 2017

After watching the first six episodes a lot of critics were out on Netflix’s new series Iron Fist. The reviews haven’t been kind. While it’s hard to judge a whole show on just shy of half of its episodes, it’s important for a show to grab the audience from the start. Iron Fist doesn’t quite do that. While I made it through the whole thing, the start of the show was slow. The latter half is definitely better, but many people could find themselves giving up on the show before that happens.

Benchmarks – “Our Undivided Attention” (Album Premiere)

Zac Djamoos Mar 22, 2017

Benchmarks will release their new album, Our Undivided Attention, on March 24th via SofaBurn Records. Today we’re premiering the full thing for your listening pleasure. Fans of The Menzingers or The Weakerthans won’t want to miss it. If you like the album, you can pre-order it through SofaBurn’s webstore.

Hiding Music From Our Parents (Encore Episode 145)

Jason Tate Mar 17, 2017

On this week’s episode of Encore I am joined by special guest Ryan Gardner. Ryan joins the show to talk about growing up in this music scene and the bands that we first fell in love with. Then we talk a little about starting young with writing online, the lessons learned and why we think it’s important to just try, and how to maybe parlay that into some kind of career in the future. Freelancing, journalism, and how this alternative music scene has changed over the years rounds out the episode.

Thanks for listening!

Secret Space – “Butterfly” (Video Premiere)

Zac Djamoos Mar 7, 2017

Secret Space recently announced The Window Room Part 2: Lost in a Dream, a reimagining of their debut The Window Room with a few extra surprises thrown in. Today we’re excited to premiere one of those surprises: the first song the band ever recorded, a cover of Weezer’s “Butterfly.” If you like their take, be on the lookout for The Window Room Part 2 when it drops for free on their BandCamp on March 17th.

Write Better Songs (Encore Episode 144)

Jason Tate Mar 3, 2017

On this week’s episode of Encore I am joined by special guest Jesse Cannon. Jesse has credits on albums from The Menzingers, to Man Overboard, to The Cure. He has managed bands, produced bands, and has written multiple books about the music industry and navigating the current realities of being a musician and a songwriter in the internet era. He joins the show to talk about everything from authentic creativity when writing songs, to originality in music, to the biggest mistakes bands make when recording. We talk about sophomore slumps, how being emotionally aware leads to better music, and the entire idea behind bands writing albums for themselves versus for the fans. There’s a lot here, but it’s a fun one.

Rocky Votolato – “Little Charger” (Live Song Premiere)

Jason Tate Mar 3, 2017

Rocky Votolato will be releasing a vinyl pressing of recordings from his recent series of living room shows. The album, Live at the Black Belt, will be out March 21st and pre-orders are now up. Today we’ve got a stream from the sessions of “Little Charger” — you can find that below.

Out of Service – ‘What We Bring With Us’ (Album Premiere)

Jason Tate Feb 21, 2017

Today we’ve got the premiere of the new EP from Out of Service. You may recognize the band name and/or album cover from one of our regular community members and his memorable avatar. The album was mixed and mastered by Nathan Hussey from All Get Out and it’ll be out this Friday. You can stream the whole thing below and pre-order it on Bandcamp.

Bitter Pills – “Strange Companions” (Song Premiere)

Jason Tate Feb 20, 2017

Today we’re happy to debut the new song, “Strange Companions,” from Bitter Pills. The band will be releasing their new EP, Night Season, on February 24th and pre-orders are now up. The song is the last track the band wrote for the EP and they think it shows where they want to take their music next, while giving a nod to their influences.

Favorite Bands (Encore Episode 143)

Jason Tate Feb 17, 2017

On this week’s episode of Encore I am once again joined by special guest Craig Manning. We talk about who our favorite bands are, what makes them our favorites, how that’s changed over the years and what it means to be a “favorite.” We also discuss what artists have the best chance of jumping into that list in the future. Then there’s some Grammy talk, and a look at Andrew McMahon and his career, all of his different projects, and his new album. There may be some album ranking.

Reservoir – “Smoke Signals” (Song Premiere)

Zac Djamoos Feb 13, 2017

Reservoir’s long-awaited debut full-length album, Mirage Sower, comes out March 17th. Today we’re excited to bring you the album’s first single “Smoke Signals.” This track is the album’s heavy, sprawling, closer and it can be streamed below. Like what you hear? Make sure you pre-order the album via Glory Kids Records.

The Ultimate Andrew McMahon Setlist

Craig Manning Feb 10, 2017

We’ve been giving Andrew McMahon a lot of love this week, all in honor of his brand new album, Zombies on Broadway. On Monday, we published an interview with him and yesterday, we reviewed the new record. Today, we’re attempting the impossible: distilling McMahon’s impressive 15-year career into one ultimate concert setlist.

For this playlist, I mostly adhered to the rules established last year in Craig Ismaili’s Ultimate Jimmy Eat World Setlist: 20 songs for the main set, two songs for the encore, and a mix of tunes that includes both hits and career-best songs. I did, however, dispense with Craig’s 80-minute rule, simply because that would mean burning one-eighth of the set on “Konstantine.”

Interview: Andrew McMahon

Craig Manning Feb 6, 2017

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness will release their sophomore LP, Zombies on Broadway, later this week. I spoke with McMahon on the phone about the new record’s pop-leaning direction, his ever-evolving sound, the way family has defined his last few albums, and whether or not he’d ever consider writing a memoir. We also spoke briefly about next year’s 10-year anniversary of Jack’s Mannequin’s The Glass Passenger and whether or not fans can expect any special tours or reissues to mark the occasion.

You Know That I’m A Sucker For Anything Acoustic Playlist

Becky Kovach Feb 3, 2017

When the weather gets cold, there’s nothing I love more than curling up on the couch with a new book, hot chocolate, and some acoustic tracks as my soundtrack. So for this week’s playlist I decided to share the warmth and coziness by putting together a few of my favorite acoustic songs.

You can check out the full track list below, which includes everything from Sorority Noise to State Champs to Sugarcult and beyond, or stream it now on Spotify and Apple Music.

After the Party (Encore Episode 142)

Jason Tate Feb 3, 2017

On this week’s episode of Encore I am joined once again by special guest Thomas Nassiff. Thomas returns for a deep dive on the new album, After the Party, by The Menzingers. We talk about the band in general, their catalog, and what they mean to us. Then we go through the album and talk about our favorite songs and how we think this album may just be something “special” for the music scene. We end with some chatter about the latest Japandroids’ release, and do a little bit of catching up as well.