New Found Glory’s Kerrang! Interview

New Found Glory
Jason Tate

New Found Glory sat down with Kerrang!:

“They’re caring about me and they want to know how I am,” rationalises Chad, “But my answer is only ever two things: I’m dying or I’m doing good. What I was finding over the past two or three years is there’s a way of talking through the suffering that keeps them in the negative headspace. 

“You want someone to ask if you’ve seen the latest TV show, like Welcome To Derry, and to tell you it’s awesome. I’d rather someone just talk to me like that, like a normal person. There are people in my life that have struggled with what I’m going through more than me. That puts a stress on me where I’m like, ‘I’m having a good day, and you brought it to a place that I don’t want to be in.’ So that’s what [You Got This] is about. It’s saying thank you for caring, but don’t use this as a tool for connection for yourself.”

Bringing The Format Back to Life

The Format
Jason Tate

The Format talked with The Aquarian:

Nate: I’ve always been a psychopath about sequence. For me it’s [about] the final song. In the past we’ve maybe got a little prog about it. Any album I do, it’s always about the first song and the last song, and what happens in between. The first song tees you up. The last song sends you away. This is the exact same way. It just feels like a very cohesive album stylistically. It does allow the songs to flow together nicely.

Review: Zaq Baker – “Victorious”

Zaq Baker - "Victorious"
Adam Grundy

Zaq Baker is a talented singer-songwriter who is passionate about many causes. While the majority of his music topics range from love (“Bri”), mental health, and growing up (“Treadmill”), his latest song of “Victorious” takes dead aim at the heartbreaking ICE takeover going on in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Baker could’ve gone in a multitude of directions on this protest song, but he chooses to focus on the human element and the neighbors who will be joining together to stand up for each other in the wake of fascism. On this five-minute song, that dives deep into the horrors that Baker and others have witnessed, his instrument of choice is an upright piano that evokes strong emotions with each chord.

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Review: Matchbook Romance – Voices

Matchbook Romance - Voices
Adam Grundy

After touring for nearly a year and a half on their debut LP, Stories and Alibis, Matchbook Romance buckled down in Long View Farm studios in Massachusetts to write the follow-up to their breakthrough onto the emo scene. Voices features a departure from the sound of their debut, and charted at #43 on the Billboard 200 upon its release on Valentine’s Day in 2006. Based on the strength of the lead single, “Monsters,” Matchbook Romance proved that they were capable of being much more than just your “stereotypical emo band.” Instead, Voices led the band down a darker path and expanded their audience along the way. The set was produced by John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Death Cab For Cutie) and the artwork was designed by Shawn Harris of The Matches. Voices is a record that I found immediately gripping and urgent, and I’m so glad that Matchbook Romance took this big risk on their sophomore effort.

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Pete Fij – “Cuckoo” (Video Premiere)

Pete Fij
Adam Grundy

Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the new single and video from Pete Fij (originally from the 90’s Brit-pop band Adorable) called “Cuckoo.” Pete Fij shared about the inspiration behind the single/video by saying:

I’m a cold war kid, whose parents escaped from behind the Iron Curtain (my dad was sent to Siberia by the Soviets but managed to escape through Afghanistan, whilst my mum used forged papers to slip over the western border to escape from Communist Poland), and perhaps it’s this background that has led to my fascination with the murky world of espionage. One of my favorite films of recent times is David Leitch’s 2017 spy thriller ‘Atomic Blonde’ with Charlize Theron kicking traitors’ butts in late 80’s neon-lit Berlin. Cuckoo is my take on the spirit of that film, with Siouxie Sioux driving the getaway car as Phil Oakey from The Human League aims a nighttime telescopic viewfinder. The lyrics are made up predominantly of espionage terms, though as the song progresses, they get mixed up to create their own code.

If you’re enjoying the new video, please consider supporting Pete Fij here.

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