Michael Shepard chats about his new Boys on the Radio project, writing poppier music, the future of Lovedrug, and whether he regrets never making it big.
Interview: Michael Shepard of Lovedrug
Interview: Matt Frazier of Local Natives
Drummer Matt Frazier talks about graduating to arenas as openers for Kings of Leon, the importance of percussion and melodies in crafting the Local Natives sound, and the next step in following up Hummingbird.
Interview: Ritzy Bryan of The Joy Formidable
Frontwoman Ritzy Bryan talks about the science vs. nature concept behind The Joy Formidable’s sophomore album Wolf’s Law, recording in Maine during the dead of winter, and the balancing act between the live show and studio recordings.
Interview: The Wonder Years – “Passing Through a Screen Door” (Song Premiere)
Today we’re excited to bring you the premiere of The Wonder Years’ “Passing Through a Screen Door.”
Read More “The Wonder Years – “Passing Through a Screen Door” (Song Premiere)”Review: Silverstein – This Is How The Wind Shifts
The idea that one situation can changed dramatically by something as innocent as where the wind blows is a compelling one – something Silverstein explores thoroughly on its latest album, This Is How The Wind Shifts. I feel like Silverstein has been one of the more underappreciated bands out of the early-00’s post-hardcore boom. While many similar acts have either folded or released poor imitations of past work, the Ontario quintet continues to challenge their selves. This Is How The Wind Shifts is proof of that, as it’s the band’s finest effort in its decade-plus career.
Read More “Silverstein – This Is How The Wind Shifts”Review: The Story So Far – What You Don’t See
It’s wrong to say The Story So Far have grown up. Their wonderfully juvenile debut LP was one of those fuck-you-motherfucker releases us nihilistic douchebags turned into cuddle up music. “You’re the worst you terrible idiot,” is me paraphrasing – but also pretty accurate. So then, what now? Well, a couple of years go by and we get something like What You Don’t See. Should singer Parker Cannon still be so pissed he can barely stand? Should the band still run through every single Set Your Goals song as if they’ve had a couple extra sips of (2010-era) FourLoko? Enthusiastically, yes!
Read More “The Story So Far – What You Don’t See”Review: Josh Ritter – The Beast in Its Tracks
After Josh Ritter’s last couple releases, I was beginning to wonder if his music would ever connect with me again like it had in the old days. His finest albums, 2006’s The Animal Years and 2007’s The Historical Conquests of… were both loaded with terrific melodies, astounding lyrical content, and emulations of musical influences that sit directly in my wheelhouse, from Bruce Springsteen to Bob Dylan to Leonard Cohen. 2010’s slow-burning return, titled So Runs the World Away, largely sought refuge in a sunnier folk-pop vein, a la Paul Simon, but despite a few stellar stand-outs, fell short. And last year’s EP, Bringing in the Darlings, failed to connect with me on any level.
Read More “Josh Ritter – The Beast in Its Tracks”Interview: Christian McAlhaney of Anberlin
Guitarist Christian McAlhaney discusses Anberlin’s latest album Vital, major label troubles, reuniting with producer Aaron Sprinkle, and the past and future of Acceptance.
Interview: Jack Antonoff of fun.
Guitarist Jack Antonoff talks about fun.’s big Grammy night and performance, transitioning to a larger scale, staying in Some Nights mode, and what’s next for the band.
New Fall Out Boy Album + New Song
Fall Out Boy will release Save Rock and Roll on May 7th. You can hear the band’s new song “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)” in the replies, where you can also find dates for their upcoming tour. You can pre-order the album here.
Read More “New Fall Out Boy Album + New Song”Review: Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob
Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?
Rob Gordon, High Fidelity
For some reason this quote from the 2000 flick High Fidelity continues to pop into my head anytime I finish listening to Tegan and Sara’s latest album Heartthrob. Now, I’m not saying that this album makes me miserable (quite the opposite really). Rather, the reason I can’t shake that quote is because Heartthrob excels at disguising its darker lyrical content with bright, up-tempo electronica flourishes. And there are a lot of electronic touches throughout Heartthrob, as Tegan and Sara trade in their guitars for keys and synthesizers. This is a full-fledged pop album and that may be shocking to some. But make no mistake: Heartthrob is undoubtedly Tegan and Sara’s best album.
But if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll realize that the duo has been inching closer and closer to this type of sound over the course of the last few Tegan and Sara records (as well as their cameos on dance tracks from EDM artists Tiesto and Morgan Page). The band has been churning out three minute pop delicacies since So Jealous and on Heartthrob, they’ve perfected it. Honestly, I’ve been waiting for this change of pace in the duo’s music and I couldn’t be happier with how Heartthrob turned out. The twin sisters have pushed themselves creatively and musically, creating something truly special. The ten-track LP was co-produced by Greg Kurstin and Mike Elizondo (two producers who’ve worked with the likes of Ke$ha, Lily Allen, Sia, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, and Maroon 5), leading to a pristine and massive sounding record. Songs like “Drove Me Wild” and single “Closer” are perfect examples – both have huge, infectious choruses that are paced by a dizzying array of vibrant keys and buzzing synth. It was a no-brainer for the sisters to work with this production team, launching Tegan and Sara’s songwriting to new heights.
Read More “Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob”AbsolutePunk.net’s Top Albums of 2012
This best of list was put together by the AbsolutePunk.net staff in 2012. It used an old system for ranking albums, but has been brought over to Chorus.fm for posterity.
Read More “AbsolutePunk.net’s Top Albums of 2012”Interview: Chris Holmes
We teamed up with PropertyOfZack to sit down with Chris Holmes, the co-producer and engineer behind Blink-182’s new EP, Dogs Eating Dogs.
What was it like going from working on Neighborhoods on and off for two years to doing Dogs Eatings Dogs in just over a month in terms of your role and it’s shift?
A very wild, yet familiar ride.
On Neighborhoods, while you could say we were on and off for two years, the crunch time “on” part was the last month or so. What I’ve found with most things with a deadline with bands, is you figure out the deadline, and you pack as much in as possible…and even more up until the last moment..It is the nature of the beast. There is no finishing early. There is always a need for more time. I call it End-of Record-itis.
With Dogs Eating Dogs, we were initially kind of casually starting to work on songs for the new LP for next year, and the next thing you know, we have one month to write, record, mix, and master for a Christmas release.
It ramped up quick as far as picking which ideas to focus on and really planning out how to make it happen within that time frame. My role essentially was the same as far as co-producer and engineer for the songs. What I’m trying to do as a co-producer is voice what I think the listener would want to hear, while also serving the song and balancing the artistic desires of the band. At the end of the day, the three guys decide what to do, but I can chime in and say my peace and hopefully offer a different perspective on things.
What I’m doing as engineer is trying to honor the legacy of the sounds from previous records and add my own touch to it. For example, if you listen to TOYPAJ Travis’s toms sound HUGE. I made a point to do the same treatment on them with this recording. The vocal sound on the “Untitled” record I really like, so I made sure to use the same vocal mic and recording chain from that record. To get even more micro, we had a different drum setup for almost every section of every song. For example on “Pretty Little Girl” ‘s pre-choruses we used these Zildjian 13″ hi-hats that were tight so you can hear every hit Travis is doing, and then when the chorus hits we put up this super-cracking OCDP Bell Brass Snare drum.
The only role change I had was being a little more hands-on with the delivery of the album and making sure it made it to iTunes, and to the bundles.
Read More “Chris Holmes”Review: Modern Baseball – Sports
Sometimes, an album takes you by surprise. Sure, you’ve heard tracks by the band previously and you had high enough expectations, hence you picking up the album in the first place, but you didn’t expect to be particularly taken aback by it. You certainly didn’t expect to find yourself casually raving about how *insert somewhat unknown band name here* is the “best band ever!” after only a couple of listens to the record, but hell, that’s how it happens. Modern Baseball are one of these bands. Previously, all I’d heard was a split with Marietta, released early this year, and a handful of demo tracks, and whilst they were promising, Modern Baseball hadn’t quite established themselves as protegees, more ones to watch. So, their first full length, Sports, was a record to look out for rather than a highly anticipated one. However, by Jove, it’s a lot more than that. It appears that Modern Baseball are certainly the best band you’ve never heard of.
Read More “Modern Baseball – Sports”Review: Boys Like Girls – Crazy World
So this is the Hollywood effect, huh?
A half-decade ago, Boys Like Girls (BLG) were a hard-charging Boston quartet that wrote commercially accessible power-pop with tinges of punk and shared bills with the likes of Spitalfield, Punchline and All Time Low. Heck, one publication even referenced them as 2007’s version of Fall Out Boy. Yet here we are in the latter stages of 2012 and Boys Like Girls sounds distinctly distant from that framework they once laid. To put it succinctly, they sound more like Train than that of Fall Out Boy.
Whether this has anything to do with Johnson’s relocation to California and his time spent with the likes of Miley Cyrus, Victoria Justice and Hot Chelle Rae, to name a few, is anyone’s guess, but one thing is for certain, when it comes to writing pop hooks few are better than him, and Crazy World is set out to prove exactly that. Whereas 2009’s Love Drunk felt like a band trying too hard, Crazy World finds the quartet swimming in their newfound contentment and reveling in their pop gloss. Any way you slice it, there’s no denying frontman Martin Johnson’s talent for pop hooks and Crazy World is chock full.
Read More “Boys Like Girls – Crazy World”