Keyboardist Andrew Dost chats about the making of Some Nights, fun.’s recent shot to stardom, and maintaining a high degree of integrity in everything you do.
Interview: Andrew Dost of fun.
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Review: The Used – Vulnerable
Despite playing a genre of music that seemingly died out years ago (as evidence of many of their peers from the early 2000’s emo-pop boom having gone the way of the dodo bird), The Used have found a way to remain relevant within the scene, as they possess some of the most die-hard fans I’ve ever encountered. It probably helps that their first two albums are revered by fans and non-fans, and, despite releasing a pair of duds since then, The Used are still able to stir up a lot of anticipation and debate whenever they’re about to release a new album.
But after releasing the poor Artwork in 2009, the band parted ways with Warner Bros. Vocalist Bert McCracken has gone on to say that Artwork is his least favorite album and directed some of the blame towards the band’s former label for meddling with it. Now three years since, their fifth studio album, Vulnerable, is the result of the band having 100% creative control for the first time in a long time, releasing the album collaboratively between their own label, Anger Music Group, and indie power Hopeless Records. McCracken stated that Vulnerable is a direct response to everything surrounding the band’s last release and is his favorite Used record ever. Those are pretty bold words and while I don’t agree with them (I’ll rep the self-titled release till I die), Vulnerable is definitely the band’s best and most versatile release since 2004’s In Love and Death.
Read More “The Used – Vulnerable”Review: Joyce Manor – Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired
Joyce Manor are a very interesting band. That may seem like lazy reviewing, and it probably is, but after putting to e-paper my thoughts over 350 times (sad and lonely brag), saying something like, “Band X actually do something creative and memorable,” starts to take on quite a bit of weight. And that’s what I can’t help but think when singer Barry Johnson cuts through with his somehow apathetic yet forceful voice. It’s also what I think when an early 2000s-ish punk influenced pop-punk band records a searing and catchy cover of “Video Killed The Radio Star.” Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired is just completely enthralling.
Read More “Joyce Manor – Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired”Review: Say Anything – Anarchy, My Dear
You can always go back home, but nothing is exactly the same. Say Anything’s sixth studio album Anarchy, My Dear is the band’s first release on an indie since leader Max Bemis released the scene classic …Is A Real Boy in 2004. After achieving mild success with the two albums in between on RCA/Sony, Bemis and company find themselves back in the familiar company of a major indie label, this time being Equal Vision. They also enlisted the production services of Tim O’Heir, whom oversaw the IARB sessions, thus including a comfort level that may not have been present during 2009 self-titled release.
But just like when you return home after all those years at college, things are different. People change, environments shift, and you grow and mature as a person. This can be directly applied to Bemis, whom, since Is A Real Boy, has matured not only as a songwriter but as a person. He’s happily married to Sherri DuPree, drugs are out of his system, and his outlook on life has changed. Basically, everything doesn’t suck as much as it did when he was writing that life-changing album. After a while all the self-loathing can be quite the drag, and Bemis is more aware of this than ever.
Read More “Say Anything – Anarchy, My Dear”Review: Every Time I Die – Ex Lives
This is not the year of the party crasher.
If you were expecting Every Time I Die to supply you with this year’s latest batch of party jams, think again. Sure, Every Time I Die has never been one to write a bunch of “happy” songs, but don’t expect the likes of “We’rewolf” or “The New Black” to appear on their sixth studio album Ex Lives. Front man Keith Buckley was out of his comfort zone while penning the lyrics to Ex Lives. Stuck overseas touring with his side project The Damned Things, Buckley, disappointed and angry, wrote from the perspective of past lives (thus the inspiration behind the album’s title), wondering if he was an awful human being in a past life and it was karma that was kicking him in the ass.
Read More “Every Time I Die – Ex Lives”Interview: Michael Shepard of Lovedrug
Frontman Michael Shepard chats about Lovedrug’s progression on Wild Blood, the process of falling in love with music again, and staying off the beaten track without a record label.
Review: Fun. – Some Nights
Around the time The Format was about to release their final record Dog Problems, lead man Nate Ruess wrote a very lengthy and impassioned blog about not succumbing to the pressures from the big labels to tweak his band’s music to sell more singles. It resulted in a fantastic middle finger salute towards the industry (“The Compromise”) and Ruess gained heaps of praise and respect for his integrity.
So maybe that’s why fans will be initially shocked by Fun.’s second album (and Fueled by Ramen debut) Some Nights. But the more you listen to and dig into the album, the more you’ll realize that the manifesto that Ruess wrote nearly 6 years ago still rings true throughout. Ruess is still writing what he wants without any outside pressure, albeit this time it was something fans weren’t completely expecting.
Read More “Fun. – Some Nights”Review: The Menzingers – On the Impossible Past
I’ve been having a horrible time
Pulling myself together.
I’ve been closing my eyes to find
The old familiar failures.
I’ve been closing my eyes to find
Why all good things should fall apart.
So begins The Menzingersʼ latest record, the sweeping, driven, masterful On the Impossible Past. Those lyrics come from the opening (and essentially introductory) “Good Things,” a short song that starts calm before the guitars and vocals tumble into an avalanche of power. As we have come to expect from the band, which is following the phenomenal Chamberlain Waits, anthemic sing-alongs provide a vessel for thought-provoking lyrics.
Review: Eisley – Deep Space
After exorcising past demons and embracing new directions on their stellar 2011 release The Valley, Eisley decided to go back to their roots somewhat (while taking some of that new found edge on The Valley) on their brand new EP Deep Space. Recorded and produced by the band (along with engineer/mixer Andy Freeman) in their hometown of Tyler, Texas, the DuPree clan (Stacy, Sherri, Chauntelle, Garron, and Weston) were inspired by the works of sci-fi novelist Ray Bradbury and turned a five-song EP into a remarkable love story set in space that fully enraptures you.
Read More “Eisley – Deep Space”Review: Hit the Lights – Invicta
For a while there, I thought we had lost Hit The Lights to the pop-punk abyss. After garnering a dedicated fan base due to their first two contagious full-lengths, the Lima, Ohio quintet signed to a major label expecting to get their brand of catchy anthems out to a wider audience. Instead, they were on the Universal roster for about the length of a Kim Kardashian wedding. After that, HTL kind of disappeared until late 2011 when Razor & Tie announced they’d sign the group and released a 3-song teaser EP. Enlisting the services of producer Mike Sapone, the three tracks on the EP featured a change in direction for Hit The Lights and perked up some excitement for their late January release.
Read More “Hit the Lights – Invicta”Review: The Maine – Pioneer
There is nothing more fascinating in music than watching a band progress before your very ears. It’s even better when a band’s progression coincides with that band’s improvement. And I can’t believe it, but The Maine has improved a whole ton in a year and a half. I don’t think that a major label can ruin a band by itself, but Black & White, The Maine’s debut for Warner Bros., was a complete dud. Pioneer won’t be as friendly to a mainstream demographic, and maybe that’s one of the reasons why the band decided to release the record itself.
Read More “The Maine – Pioneer”Interview: Andrew McMahon of Jack’s Mannequin
Andrew McMahon discusses Jack’s Mannequin’s third record People and Things, viewing life from a day-to-day perspective, writing for Hollywood, and being caught in between the mainstream and indie.
Interview: Mindy White of States
Vocalist Mindy White chats about the making of States’ debut full-length, how she first got started with the Copeland guys, and her up-and-down past in Lydia.
Review: Marianas Trench – Ever After
It only took five minutes to prove that Marianas Trench were the real deal.
The opener to the pop-rock quartet’s sophomore effort, Masterpiece Theater, was breathtaking to say the least. “Masterpiece Theater I” presented everything to love about the genre – soaring harmonies, memorable instrumentation, and hooks to go crazy for. The band’s prime selling point took place within vocalist Josh Ramsay, who gave unreal performances on nearly every song on the album. Marianas Trench had something special going for them, and it was easy to say that their follow-up had a lot to live up to. In company with Masterpiece Theater’s incredible solidarity, it also ended up selling platinum (in Canada), with numerous platinum and gold singles to go along with it. That alone sets the bar enormously for the highly anticipated Ever After – and it’s the band’s best offering to date.
Read More “Marianas Trench – Ever After”Review: O’Brother – Garden Window
There’s a certain pocket of bands writing really good “rock” music these days. Maybe even “alternative” for the sake of genre-specific argument. For the sound I’m speaking of, I’ll define “rock” music as that of the genre most of us grew up with when the radio wasgood. Whether it was Nirvana, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins, etc. – we knew there was beauty and thought between the layers. Every now and again a band will come along that will paralyze us with a sound built on grit, feedback and cryptic auras stacked like a triple pane glass wall thickly layered in percussion, deafening guitars and a guilt-ridden, beautifully sparked voice. All of these thoughts were running through my head the first time I heard O’Brother’s debut full-length, Garden Window, and they continue to do so.
Read More “O’Brother – Garden Window”