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LATEST ARTICLES - PAGE 18

Review: Charli XCX – Crash

Adam Grundy

Every now and then you come across an album that just compels you to write about it. The current pop music scene is filled with new artists (Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa), established artists branching out from their main project (Hayley Williams), and the household names (Adele, Lady Gaga). Charli XCX was one of those artist I heard name-dropped a few times along the way of navigating through the wave of pop artists that were out there, but I discovered Crash by Charli XCX pretty late in the game (nearly a month after the initial release date) and I was immediately drawn into the world that this artist brings forth on the dynamic, smash of a record. Armed with a plethora of A-list producers, including The 1975’s George Daniel (among many others), Charli XCX could’ve gone in a number of directions on her fifth studio album. Much like how Dua Lipa set the world on fire the last two years with Future Nostalgia, Crash has that feeling of being the “it” pop record that could garner the same amount of momentum on radio and word of mouth.

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Review: Tombstones In Their Eyes – A Higher Place

Adam Grundy

Coming off of the release of last year’s Looking For A Light, Tombstones In Their Eyes are back with a well-equipped approach to their music by adding lush vocal harmonies into a crowd pleasing set of tunes. Guitarist and vocalist John Treanor said this about the band’s evolution, “The band is evolving, which is cool. I’ve never been in a band that stuck around long enough and released enough material to really see the change occur. There’s such a wide range of songs and sounds now, it’s really hard to pigeonhole what we are: Psych Rock? Maybe. Shoegaze? Not so much at this point. Indie Rock? Maybe. Rock and Roll? Yes. It all depends on which song you’re playing, really, but all the songs fit into the Tombstones In Their Eyes genre and sound, no matter how disparate their sound.” With limitless possibilities for their songwriting, this band appears to be hitting the right groove in their musical journey.

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Review: Rozzi – Berry

Adam Grundy

Sometimes you just know when an artist has that “it” factor to them that will open multiple doors to the possibilities of their career. Rozzi definitely falls into this category with her Berry EP, a thrilling collection of songs that uniquely showcases her impressive vocal range and songwriting prowess. Led by the super-charged single featuring Nile Rodgers, “Consequences” is one of those songs that grabs your attention from the first few notes and never lets up. With a great-sounding EP, it’s only a matter of time before others become aware of this artist’s brilliance.

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Interview: Chase Tremaine

Chase Tremaine
Adam Grundy

A little bit of time ago, I was able to catch up with singer-songwriter Chase Tremaine to discuss the re-release of his sophomore record Development and Compromise, my adoration for his debut called Unfall, as well as a lot about what the future has in store for his musical path ahead. I really enjoyed hearing about what made Chase want to explore his musical journey, and hear about his influences that he draws inspiration from.

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Interview: Out Of Service

Out of Service
Adam Grundy

Recently I was able to hop onto a Zoom call with the emo rock band Out of Service, and we discussed their recently released single called “What You See” that features John Nolan (Taking Back Sunday/Straylight Run), their upcoming touring plans, and most importantly their finishing touches on their third full-length record called The Ground Beneath Me. Out of Service is comprised of Teebs Williams (guitar), Mike Capuano (vocals), Ken Bond (drums), and Brian McGovern (bass). The upcoming album will be released on Enjoy The Ride Records on June 3rd, and the vinyl will be available for purchase at the same time as the digital release date.

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Review: Animalweapon – Set Of Constraints

Adam Grundy

For those unfamiliar with the electronic artist known as Animalweapon, it comes from the mind of Patrick Cortes. On this sprawling, eight-song album called Set of Constraints, the artist tackles heavy lyrical themes like struggles with mental health, anxiety, as well as making personal connections to the material to ensure the balance is just right. Cortes shared this about the new record: “A lot of this record is a marker of a transitional period of my life. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my last record Tyrannosaurus was very much a representation of a pretty low stretch, mental health wise. A lot of this album was me acknowledging that I can mitigate that if I actually put in the work, and starting to. I still write music with enough room for interpretation so that people can connect it to whatever they’re feeling, but ideally I hope it resonates with anyone who is working on themselves or ‘in the cocoon’ so to speak.” Set Of Constraints seems like an odd title, as Animalweapon’s musical journey appears to be limitless.

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Review: Midtown – Living Well Is The Best Revenge

Adam Grundy

In the crowded scene of pop-punk bands during the early 00’s, I admittedly didn’t give Midtown as much of a hard look as I should have in retrospect. I would usually enjoy the singles that the band put on the Warped Tour compilation that came out each year, or stumble across a friend’s MP3 of punk songs on their computer that caught my ear, but I didn’t get on this band’s bandwagon until much later. After seeing Living Well Is The Best Revenge at a record store for a criminally low price, I took a chance on the album that I’ve grown to love even more so today. This album was crafted under the direction of producer Mark Trombino (Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World), and he helped Midtown hone in on the best parts of their sound to create a record that should’ve received more love and media attention. In an interview with Jason during the AbsolutePunk days, Midtown went into detail about their disdain for Drive-Thru Records, and potentially may have stunted some of the label’s desire to push the album into more commercial outlets. Controversy aside, Midtown’s Living Well Is the Best Revenge should be considered one of the better pop-punk albums to come out of this period of time.

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Review: Dear Spring – “Every Now and Then”

Adam Grundy

The latest taste of new music from the DC-based pop-punk band Dear Spring is called ”Every Now and Then,” and is filled with great harmonies, back and forth vocals, and a beating heart of purpose in every lyric. The song was produced by Nik Bruzzese, mixed by Ben Green, and mastered by Paul Leavitt. Dear Spring would be perfect for fans of Four Year Strong, Taking Back Sunday, and Hit the Lights, since this band is very much entrenched in that crisp pop-punk sound that many of us have grown to love over the years.

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Review: The Injured List – Blue 32

Adam Grundy

Written largely during the start of the pandemic, The Injured List have returned with their fourth full-length record called Blue 32. The record title is a reference to the quarterback’s signals called out before the snap, and the band’s affinity for writing sad songs packed with plenty of purpose. The album was written mostly by lead vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Nathan Marks and drummer Ashton Parsons, while the band also had some additional friends contribute guitar parts remotely. The Injured List took a unique approach to this album by book-ending the record with the intro/outro tracks of “Adrift” and “Ashore” that help solidify their artistic statement found on Blue 32.

The record opens with the aforementioned intro track called “Adrift” that prepares the listener for the beauty found in my personal favorite in the set, called “Doubt.” That particular song opens with some well-placed synths that eventually break away for heavier-toned guitars and singer Nathan Marks’ anthemic vocals. “Doubt” reminds me a lot of Autopilot Off, with a little bit of The Maine and Mae thrown into the mix for good measure. Things continue to stay great on “Recover,” as drummer Ashton Parsons sets a great beat to allow the band to explore the possibilities of their sound.

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Review: Sandman Sleeps – Crisis Actor

Adam Grundy

Debut albums always carry that weighty hope of grabbing the audience’s attention from the very first note. Sandman Sleeps have stormed onto the music scene with Crisis Actor, an album that the band admits that they strove for painful perfection in its recording process. “We’ve recorded this damn album, like, three times now,” confesses bassist, Alex Peck. In addition to Alex, the band is comprised of vocalist Cristina Peck, drummer Karsten Andersen, guitarist Zack Jones, and Sandman Sleeps’ musical chemistry only further adds to the allure found on their debut. Led by the immediately gripping single called, “Portrait of Jennie,” Sandman Sleeps reminds me of Florence and the Machine, early-Cranberries, and with a modern songwriting twist similar to Middle Kids. The band’s attention to detail pays off widely, as Crisis Actor is a thrilling record from start to finish.

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Nick Leng – “Morning / Midnight” and “My Mind Is A Mess In the Morning”

Nick Leng
Adam Grundy

Today I’m thrilled to share the new double single of “Morning / Midnight” as well as “My Mind is a Mess in the Morning” by a talented singer-songwriter named Nick Leng. Leng is currently supporting the artist, LP, on their Spring North American tour, and the interest in this artist couldn’t be higher with expansive songs like these two. Leng shared this about each song:

I’ve always had trouble writing quotes that summarize songs. It feels like the words can put songs in boxes, and possibly snuff out any personal interpretation a listener might have. In a similar way, when I was finished with ‘My Mind is a Mess in the Morning,’ and was thinking about releasing it as a single, it really excited me to pair it with ‘Morning / Midnight.’ They’re equally important to me, and, one might say, quite different. together, I felt like they painted a better picture of what I’m trying to say. 

’My Mind is a Mess in the Morning’ was written while I was living in Topanga in a trailer park which, subsequently, (and arguably hilariously) became rat infested prompting a hasty departure. ‘Morning / Midnight’ was started there as well one late night when I was chopping up a classical piano improvisational piece I had recorded, on a sampler. There’s a video on my Instagram of me playing the melodica in the intro in the morning and the sun peeked through that ended up in the final version. I had considered dividing that intro, with the chopped piano and the ‘second part’ when the beat comes in, into two songs, but the journey of the intro, and duality and sensation of when the bass and kick comes in, had a real story to it that it cemented the conviction that it’s one idea.

If you’re enjoying the two singles, please consider purchasing them from your favorite streaming service via SOTA Records.

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Interview: Craig Mabbitt of The Dead Rabbitts

Dead Rabbitts
Adam Grundy

Recently I was able to catch up with the lead vocalist of Escape the Fate and The Dead Rabbitts, Craig Mabbitt, before the release of the latter band’s third studio album called Rumination. In this interview I asked Craig about the differences between writing music for both bands, the touring plans for each project, working with veteran producer John Feldman, and he also shared about his recent sobriety that allowed him to see his career path in a much better light. I enjoyed my conversation with Craig as he shared insight on the writing behind both bands, and The Dead Rabbitts’ latest album, Rumination, hits the streets this Friday (April 1).

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Review: Telltale – Lie Your Way Out

Adam Grundy

The latest offering of music from Telltale is a solid mix of impactful, hard-hitting songs that still have plenty of substance about them to make you continue to think about the lyrical material. The band tackles themes like mental health, self-doubt, and other more global issues like the climate crisis to round out this EP. Telltale shared this about the new record, “This record is our viewpoint on being a part of the apocalyptic generation. We obsess over zombie films, live in fear of the daily news, and constantly foresee the end of the world. Or rather, the world as we know it. A generation written off as lazy and self-centered, we’re taught to think that something broken can’t be fixed from within.” With interesting guitar parts and uplifting vocals, this band would perfect for fans of bands like Sleeping With Sirens, Hawthorne Heights, and Set It Off.

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Review: Riverby – Absolution

Adam Grundy

The latest offering from Philadelphia’s own Riverby finds the artist on solid footing and tinkering with an aggressive rock sound to pair with their abrasive lyrics. Riverby entered the studio with veteran hit-maker Jim Wirt (Jack’s Mannequin) to craft the album that would become known as Absolution. The band shared this about the concept behind the material, “It’s about ending fear with mortality and finally coming to solutions with your shit, closing the door on things that have been festering: your history and yourself, and making peace with God. I don’t even believe in God, but on the off chance He’s fucking real, I’d like us to be cool.” The band is able to capitalize on their hard-nosed material with one of this year’s most immediately gripping records to date.

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