Review: Have Mercy – The Loneliest Place I’ve Ever Been

Adam Grundy

There’s something to be said when you can feel a beating heart behind a band’s music. That raw, emotional connection to the material is hard to come by these days, especially in the AI-era of music. Maryland’s own Have Mercy have returned with their most immediate material to date with The Loneliest Place I’ve Ever Been, that is packed with ultra-personal lyrics. “We’ve been waiting so long to show our fans what we’ve been working on. This feels like a new journey has started for our band. There’s no better way to kick start this album than releasing a song like ‘august 17’. It is an incredibly personal song that carries a lot of weight. It’s about loss and the continuing pain felt after someone is gone. It may hurt less over time, but it never stops hurting,” shared Brian Swindle, lead singer/guitarist of Have Mercy. By delving even deeper into stories of loss and trauma, Have Mercy simultaneously crafted their most personal, urgent, and best work to date on The Loneliest Place I’ve Ever Been.

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Review: Pinkshift – Earthkeeper

Pinkshift - Earthkeeper
Adam Grundy

It’s easy to see why Pinkshift were so happy for their sophomore LP, Earthkeeper, to see the light of day. This record is brimming with hopeful messages, and is paired with an ambitious and dynamic take on what punk music is and can sound like today. An “Earthkeeper” is “a reflection of universal consciousness and a protector of existence,” and the spacey artwork showcases the band’s lofty ambitions on taking their music to the next level. While their Hopeless Records’ debut, that was called Love Me Forever, was a raucous punk rock romp of a good time, Earthkeeper is a direct reaction to the world around this young three-piece band that has a lot on their minds. Singles like the abrasive “Anita Ride” and the punk rock energy found on “Evil Eye” are wisely stacked back to back in the early-going of the album sequencing, while vocalist Ashrita Kumar finds lightning in a bottle in a dynamic vocal performance. Earthkeeper is absolutely packed with heavy political themes, while still remaining true and authentic the band’s core values and spiritual beliefs that there is a bigger power at play.

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Review: Wolf Alice – The Clearing

Wolf Alice - The Clearing
Adam Grundy

There’s a comforting feeling behind Ellie Rowsell’s vocals. The front-woman of British rock band, Wolf Alice, captivates and charms all over the band’s fourth studio album, called The Clearing. The album itself was produced by veteran hit-maker Greg Kurstin (Foo Fighters, Jonas Brothers), and The Clearing has a bit of that classic rock feeling to it as you play it from front to back. From the upbeat piano found on the lead single of “Bloom Baby Bloom” that gave Wolf Alice fans a sense of the direction found on the band’s latest effort, to the stylistic choices made by the three other band members to connect things together, The Clearing wasn’t exactly the album I thought would follow after 2021’s Blue Weekend. Instead, the album plays out like a 70’s rock n’ roll romp, much like what Fleetwood Mac cut their teeth to during that decade, with mostly positive results. The LP’s strengths are found in the shimmering sheen and musical polish of “Just Two Girls” and the album closing single of “The Sofa,” while I initially had trouble connecting with the style of “Bloom Baby Bloom” when it released in mid-May. Wolf Alice are trying to develop their sound by looking towards the past for tried and true influences, and they can only hope that their fans are still with them on the latest detour in their trajectory.

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Frightful Places – “Spirits Are Up!” (Song Premiere)

Frightful Places
Adam Grundy

Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the latest single and visualizer video from Frightful Places, the solo project of Kevin Tiernan, called “Spirits Are Up!” Kevin shared, “Picture this: You’re on the beach in July, the sun warm on your skin, daydreaming about autumn leaves and the crisp October breeze. Sitting beside the one you love, you’re torn between soaking in the last days of summer and eagerly awaiting Halloween. ‘Spirits Are Up!’ is an optimistic anthem that blends the dreamy essence of shoegaze with the vibrant energy of The Cure and Turnover. Produced by Chris Teti (The World Is A Beautiful Place…), this track will make you feel sun-soaked, even as you start to crave fall.” If you’re enjoying the new single, please consider streaming more Frightful Places music here.

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