Review: Modern Baseball – You’re Gonna Miss It All

Thomas Nassiff Feb 9, 2014

I really, really don’t like the term guilty pleasure. I think it’s a dirty phrase that’s used too often by people who don’t feel guilty at all about liking whatever they’re talking about. I used to describe the Snakes On A Plane theme song as a guilty pleasure (while we’re here: that song is a undoubtedly a high in Crush Management’s dominance over the world), but then I thought about it and decided that “guilty pleasures” do not exist.

There is a point here, hidden underneath the layers of awesome, guiltless pleasure currently filling your ears, since I’m assuming that you clicked on that link and by now William Beckett is getting into the first chorus of the Snakes On A Plane jam. For many people, Modern Baseball’s sophomore LP, You’re Gonna Miss It All, will seem like it belongs under the umbrella of things you like but deep down you’re not really supposed to like. This makes sense to me because I felt that way about the band’s debut, Sports, for a very long time. Brendan Lukens and Jake Ewald are not “technically good” at singing. Modern Baseball does not write gloriously composed instrumentals that will one day serve as a reference point upon which even more glorious songs will be written. The lyrics Lukens and Ewald belt out – sometimes loudly, sometimes softly, and sometimes mumble-y – have an expiration date on them. Case in point: The opening track, “Fine, Great,” mentions Instagram. Someday, Instagram will not exist. Probably.

Drew Beringer Jan 23, 2014

Transgender Dysphoria Blues is the record Laura Jane Grace has been screaming to get out for many years. Two May’s ago, the Against Me! front woman revealed her lifelong struggle with gender dysphoria and came out as a transgender woman. After a flurry of press and support followed by a desolate and bleak recording process that almost killed the band rises an album that shuts out all the white noise and delivers the best Against Me! album ever. Laura Jane Grace has a lot to get off her chest, so it’ll be best if you give one of the most essential punk records of our era your full and undivided attention.

Gregory Robson Jan 22, 2014

Chalk this one up to pretense.

The highly anticipated sophomore follow-up to Young the Giant’s juggernaut self-titled debut is a mixed bag of awkwardness, superfluous breathiness and more brain-wracking lyrics. Plenty might find album opener “Slow Dive,” gorgeous and inviting but really it’s a waste of 40 seconds that serves no purpose. Ditto for the punchy “Anagram,” which has a cheery chorus and a sun-drenched vibe but does very little on repeat listens. Sure, there’s moments of prettiness and the song does have its share of pleasant moments but it lingers for far too long and is only rescued by Sameer Gadhia’s otherworldly vocals. First single “It’s About Time” is even more confused as it seems to stretch the band into a genre they’re not well suited for. Equal parts garage-pop and avant-garde indie, it sounds way too much like a band trying too hard.

Craig Manning Jan 20, 2014

It’s a weird thing about being a music “critic”: you’re consistently comparing the songs and albums you hear to other icons and indices from your own listening experience and trying to decipher individual influences within an artist’s sound, but in most cases, you have no real idea whether those influences were there at all or whether the similarities you noticed were intentional. Instead, you’re left driving blind, projecting your own musical history and preferences onto the work of someone you’ve never even met or spoken to, let alone traded records with. But that’s what makes it such a pleasure when someone you know unleashes a remarkable musical work. You get to hear the music they’ve been championing to you for years – the songs you’ve shared, the musical moments you’ve both remarked upon – reflected back at you in their own musical creations. In essence, you hear the person you have gotten to know encapsulated in the words and chords of the music they write, and in doing so, you get to know that person a little bit better.

Drew Beringer Jan 17, 2014

Revival my ass. Sure, there has been a handful of think pieces and reviews lately about the “reemergence” of emo from the type of music journalist who jumps from trend to trend (or hashtag to hashtag) but honestly any fan from the scene already knows that 1. emo never went away (or will go away – just check the AbsolutePunk.net homepage the last ten years) and 2. Florida’s You Blew It! have been cranking out emo-flavored pop-punk jams over the past four-plus years, as the group’s latest album, Keep Doing What You’re Doing, expands on the band’s so-called “1999” sound.

Hell, it was only two years ago we jokingly gave this style of music the absurd moniker “twinkle daddies.” But You Blew It! has emerged from 2012’s Cap’n Jazz-influenced Grow Up, Dude and last winter’s split with Fake Problems louder and bolder with Keep Doing What You’re Doing. Produced by Emo Mayor Evan Weiss, YBI!’s knack for loud, dissonant power chords boom throughout the record without its essential fuzziness being compromised. In fact, the production is very reminiscent of Weiss’ 2011 release, Proper, a record that did a bang-up job of balancing its stripped-down, raw moments with the louder, more frenetic ones while remaining sonically pleasing. “Match & Tinder” is a callused, aggressive opener that twitches between the rough anguish of vocalist Tanner Jones’ rasp and the wistfulness of Andy Anaya’s frantic guitar work. The pop from Timothy Flynn’s relentless snare drum paces “Award of the Year Award”’s driving heaviness as an exasperated Jones yells, “Consider me a friend, but only in the past tense.”

Blake Solomon Jan 13, 2014

As a somewhat educated apprentice of pop-punk, one inevitably asks the question, “Shouldn’t you just meet some new friends?” Lots of the problems detailed in an album like Neck Deep’s debut Wishful Thinking could most likely be fixed by a simple change of scenery. Stop talking to girls in beanies and high heels! There’s nothing cute about a Grey Goose keychain! I don’t know, we were all young and some of us always will be. And it can certainly be excruciating to be constantly reminded over smashing drums and snotty vocals that the whole world is filled with garbage people. We take public transportation and wait in line at the grocery store; we don’t need reminding.

AbsolutePunk Jan 6, 2014

This best of list was put together by the AbsolutePunk.net staff in 2013. It used an old system for ranking albums, but has been brought over to Chorus.fm for posterity.

I’d like to formally welcome you all to the end of 2013. We thought we’d celebrate by unleashing our AbsolutePunk.net Top 30 albums of the year. Compiled from all of the AP.net staff’s EOTY lists (which will be revealed on January 6th, 2014), we’ve once again released one of the most complete and eclectic lists you’ll see from any publication. From death metal to indie to defend pop punk to #emorevival, we have it all. So I’ll shut up now and let our list do the rest of the talking – check it out in the replies. As always, your thoughts, opinions, and disagreements are welcomed. 2013 was a great year for the music world once again – here’s to 2014.

Zac Djamoos Dec 23, 2013

Each new The Republic of Wolves album seems to marginally overshadow the previous. Varuna expanded on the Brand New worshiping His Old Branches EP and their Cartographer EP was even better than Varuna. Enters No Matter How Narrow, here to claim the title of The Republic of Wolves’ masterpiece.

Whereas their previous three releases had been dark, brooding affairs, …Narrow is a bit lighter. This is apparent first even from the album cover – this one is white and gold and blue, while Varuna’s was brown and red and navy. But it’s the music that’s important. The choruses present are catchier than in the past, the guitar riffs are brighter than before, there’s less screaming present on this release. And when screaming is utilized, it’s done in a more sparing fashion, just to accentuate. A perfect example of this is the bridge of “Pioneers,” which finds only ten seconds of screaming for emphasis.

Jason Tate Dec 11, 2013

Holy shit. Steven Klein has been kicked out of New Found Glory.

It is with heavy hearts that we must let you know that Steve Klein is no longer a part of New Found Glory. We’ve had our differences with Steve over the years that have led us to this decision. We love Steve however personal differences have guided this decision and we no longer feel we can work with him. Rest assured that New Found Glory will still go on! After the Parahoy Cruise we are planning to write a new record and start this new chapter for our band. We have not decided on who will fill Steve’s position however we will let you know our plans as soon as we figure that out. We love you, our fans, so much and appreciate your dedication and loyalty to our band. We hope you stick by us during this difficult time.
We love you,
Chad, Jordan, Cyrus, and Ian

Craig Manning Nov 11, 2013

I’ve always had a relative soft spot for Avril Lavigne, not because her career is built from consistently solid albums (in fact, Lavigne’s discography is infamously spotty, marked by great pop singles and not much else), but because I always felt like she was unique in the landscape of pop music. It’s not just that she worked with Butch Walker on pretty much all of her best songs—though that certainly didn’t hurt—but rather that her sassy punk image and her loud, distinct personality always showed through in her songs. Lavigne was at her best on her second full-length—2004’s Under My Skin—where a dark pop style (on the Walker-penned “My Happy Ending”) and a rebellious tone (the other big single, “Don’t Tell Me,” which radiated a genuine girl power message that not many pop stars have been able to replicate since)—set her apart from the other pop music on the radio at the time. Other than Pink (who, big surprise, also utilized Walker as her go-to co-writer and producer), no other female pop starlet of the early 2000s gave off the same in-control confidence. Here was a pop singer/songwriter who was going to make the music that she wanted to and do it her own way, damn anyone—especially the label—who tried to tell her otherwise.

Craig Manning Nov 11, 2013

Earlier this year, when the AP.net staff ranked its collective favorite albums from the first half of 2013, the list was populated largely by critical favorites from the year’s first six months (The National, Kanye West, Vampire Weekend, Deafheaven, and Justin Timberlake, to name a few), as well as by a few scene staples like Fall Out Boy and Paramore. But amidst the big names and the usual suspects, there was a record by a country music singer/songwriter named Jason Isbell, somehow managing to sneak into the list at number eight.

Almost five months later, as the year winds down and the time for album-of-the-year lists draws near, I find myself returning to that record—called Southeastern—more than virtually anything released this year. More than once, I’ve woken up at night with this album’s soaring melodies, haunting lyrics, sparse instrumentation, and Isbell’s weather-worn tenor ringing in my mind. The album’s best song, an acoustic heartbreaker called “Elephant” keeps randomly punctuating my dreams for no apparent reason other than it’s a damn fantastic piece of songwriting. And I repeatedly find myself playing the strains of the mission-statement opening, “Cover Me Up,” whenever I pick up my acoustic guitar between busy freelance writing assignments.

AbsolutePunk Oct 29, 2013

Many bands who release an album after a long hiatus inevitably disappoint. Expectations are too high, inspiration isn’t what it once was, and momentum is lost. Partycrasher is a boot to the face of every flat late-career release that preceded this one. “Why’d I take so long to break these chains around me?” The band soon answers the opening self-imposed question with an admission in “Boat Builders”: “I admit I’ve been bored, I’ve been lazy.” The next 10 tracks serve as more than an adequate apology, as A Wilhelm Scream has stuck yet another jaw-dropping middle finger to the competition.

Craig Manning Oct 28, 2013

The first time I heard “Roar,” the lead-off single and opening track from Prism, Katy Perry’s fourth full-length record—as well as Perry’s eighth number one hit—I thought it was a solid pop song. It had a catchy melody, a huge, arena-rock-esque hook, generic lyrics, and just about everything else you would expect from the new Katy Perry single. It was neither a great song nor a terrible one, and after coming to loathe pretty much every radio hit from both 2008’s breakthrough, One of the Boys and 2010’s world-conquering juggernaut,Teenage Dream, “solid pop song” was just about a home run for Perry in my book.

Then I started paying a bit more attention.

Blake Solomon Oct 20, 2013

Just short of admitting all of my neuroses to a bunch of strangers, it seems pertinent to start a review of Intersections with the beguilingly cliche statement that you’ll like this if you often find yourself alone. Evan Weiss has become known for his sheer proliferation of music, a sort-of workman in the emo age. Which is fine and true, but what you really get on a stellar album like Intersections is a painting of a person forced from the safehaven of their mind. It’s music with all of the intricate guitar, soft singing and autumn-hued loneliness we love about Into It. Over It., but these one-on-one conversations (or more often one-on-none) carry more weight. Mr. Weiss is far from talking to himself these days, and as a mouthpiece for those of us tripping through our twenties, he’s someone we need to hear.

Jonathan Bautts Oct 13, 2013

Incubus singer Brandon Boyd discusses his new musical project Sons of the Sea, working with producer Brendan O’Brien, curating his stream of consciousness writing style, and looks back on his career so far.

Review: Modern Baseball – You’re Gonna Miss It All

Review: Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues

Review: Young the Giant – Mind Over Matter

Review: Hailey, It Happens – Under the Brilliant Lights

Review: You Blew It! – Keep Doing What You’re Doing

Review: Neck Deep – Wishful Thinking

AbsolutePunk.net’s Top Albums of 2013

Review: The Republic of Wolves – No Matter How Narrow

Steve Klein Has Been Kicked Out Of New Found Glory

Review: Avril Lavigne – Avril Lavigne

Review: Jason Isbell – Southeastern

Review: A Wilhelm Scream – Partycrasher

Review: Katy Perry – Prism

Review: Into It. Over It. – Intersections

Interview: Brandon Boyd of Incubus