The Furniture – Live Set (Video Premiere)

The Furniture

Today is a great day to share a live performance from Baltimore experimental rock duo, The Furniture. The band recently released their debut, self-titled LP via the label, Spanish Prayers. On this latest performance-based video, the band shared, “From a distance this band has two moving parts but when you’re able to peer over our shoulders and under our noses, there’s a lot more going on. It’s almost like a micro-world happening with the various instruments and sound makers. The video captures this beautifully, putting the viewer in the micro-world.” If you’ve been looking for that next great rock band that transcends musical genres, look no further than the ultra-talented The Furniture.

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Liner Notes (September 18th, 2022)

Fall Leaves

This week’s (kinda late) newsletter has first impressions of the new iPhone 14 Pro, some thoughts on iOS 16, and some commentary on one of the better release weeks this year. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I enjoyed this week, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.

If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.

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Review: The Killers – Battle Born

It’s easy to love a thing that everyone else loves. In the music world, there is something thrilling about the communion that comes with shared adoration: about falling head over heels for something that resonates with a lot of other people at the same time as it resonates with you, or of getting the affirmation that comes from seeing all your friends and family and acquaintances fall in love with an album or artist you already adored. It’s far harder to stand your ground when you love something that everyone else says is dogshit. It’s difficult to keep carrying the torch for an album when even the artist who made it has come to view it as sub-par.

I bring all of this up because this weekend marks 10 years since The Killers released Battle Born, their fourth album and an LP that just about everyone – frontman Brandon Flowers included – is convinced is mediocre or downright bad. They’re all wrong: This album fucking rules. It has always ruled, and it will always rule, and it is the perfect bridge between The Killers that were and The Killers that are today. There have been times, over the years, where I would have called it the band’s best album. (I believe that my review of the album for AbsolutePunk.net, still listed as the most positive write-up the album got on Metacritic, made precisely that claim.) From the vantage point of 2022, following two game-changing, band-redefining albums from The Killers in 2020 and 2021, I’m not even sure what my favorite Killers album is anymore. Best or not, though, Battle Born deserves more credit than it got in 2012, and I’m here to make the case for it – even if no one else will.

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No Sleep Records Launches Kickstarter

No Sleep Records

No Sleep Records has launched a Kickstarter to try and save the label:

On September 10th, as I was making preparations to receive inventory, I learned that Awesome Merch had been locked out of their commercial space, and that the landlord has taken possession of everything inside.

Every piece of inventory No Sleep has is in that warehouse. From apparel, records, CD’s, even test presses. My heart sank. I’m in shock. I’m devastated.

I immediately got in touch with my lawyer, and am in the process of seeing what we can do to rectify this nightmare situation and to see if we can recover from these damages. As of now I have no real answer on if we will get our inventory back, what will have to be done to try and rectify the situation or what the outcome will be.

This is a big loss for No Sleep. After an already tough couple of years due to COVID-19.

Review: New Found Glory – Coming Home

New Found Glory - Coming Home

Change can be one of the most difficult things we ever go through. Changing jobs/careers, changing relationships, or even changing the way we go about our daily routines can lead to stress and several pitfalls. New Found Glory certainly changed the approach to their songwriting and trademark pop-punk sound in favor a sleek pop-based sound on Coming Home. While some argued this change was not for the better, there is still a large number of fans who point to this record marking a turning point in the band’s career that showcased that NFG was not a one-trick pony. The band was just coming off a grueling, nearly two-year long promotional cycle of their last album, Catalyst, before wanting to unwind and breathe a little bit. The set was co-produced by the band and Thom Panunzio, and the main songwriting and demoing was completed in Malibu, California in a large house known as the Morning View Mansion. While this isolation could have led to darker-toned material, the band instead embraced this freedom with some of their best songwriting to date, filled with lush vocal takes and vibrant guitar parts. Coming Home was nearly buried by Geffen Records right out of the gate, and the band only had the backing of one radio single in “It’s Not Your Fault” to show for their efforts. This album seemed to divide many fans. While some, including myself, pointed to this record as the best version of New Found Glory, others couldn’t get past how different the sound was from their previous records to fully embrace it. The new-found interest in Coming Home sparked recently with the first-ever vinyl release of the album, and it led to more continued conversations around this true gem of a record.

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The Stone Foxes – “Time Is A Killer” (Song Premiere)

Stone Foxes

Today I’m thrilled to showcase the latest single from San Francisco rock band, The Stone Foxes, called “Time is a Killer.” With a sound that strays somewhere between The Black Crowes, Jack White, and The Struts, The Stone Foxes have crafted a blistering new song that hits all the right chords. The Stone Foxes are comprised of brothers Shannon and Spencer Koehler, and the latest single comes from their forthcoming LP On The Other Side, out everywhere music is sold on November 18th.

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New Junk City – “High Contrast” (Video Premiere)

New Junk City

Today is the perfect day to share Atlanta punk rock band, New Junk City, latest music video called “High Contrast.” In this great-sounding single, the band channel their love of Tom Petty with more of a Green Day styling to it. The band fits well in the scheme of fans of The Menzingers and Kali Masi. Band leader, John Vournakis, shared this about the new single, “It’s pretty on the nose – just about making an effort to remind myself of those moments when the clouds part, the light shines in, and I can see all the good, positive things in my life instead of staying focused on everything that is fucked up, rotten, and ugly. I’m certainly guilty of this, but I think a lot of songwriters use misery, dissatisfaction or self loathing as the defacto starting point. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I frequently feel that way, but it’s where I’ve always written from, and I just wanted to try to write a positive song for once.” By facing their hardest challenges head on, New Junk City have crafted a masterful new single.

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