This past week, I was able to reach out to the band Dim to talk about their great new record, From Dark To Light We’ll See that we premiered last week. In this interview, I asked the band about the circumstances that led to this album title, what each band member brings creatively into Dim with their unique artist influences, their process for songwriting, and upcoming merchandise plans to support the new record.
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Today I’m thrilled to share the exclusive video premiere of Flight Club’s latest single called “High Roller” from their upcoming record, Until The Sun Drowns, out everywhere on July 30th via Open Your Ears Records. Flight Club’s vocalist Charlie Mahoney shared this about this great new single, “With ‘High Roller,’ we wanted to make a song that felt like a late night. Something fun but with a bit of attitude to get you feeling yourself.” Your next musical obsession has arrived.
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Some songs just linger in the cultural bloodstream. It’s impossible to predict, in the moment, which songs those will be. Occasionally, it’s the big hits, but it’s also often those same world-conquering smashes that end up sounding the most dated in retrospect. Usually, you have to wait years or even decades to see which songs have truly become songbook classics, once all the context and narrative and hype and promotion has drifted into distant memory. You have to get to the point where all that remains is the song itself and the mysterious, beguiling hold it somehow continues to have over people.
There’s a spectacular cover band in my hometown that mostly plays songs from the classic rock era. It’s not hard to see why: Those songs have been proven staples for so long that building a setlist around them is just a smart business decision. You can’t miss with “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Don’t Stop Believin’” or “American Girl.” You can’t miss with The Beatles or The Stones. There are precisely two post-2000 songs that I remember regularly hearing in the setlist from this particular cover band. The first one was “Mr. Brightside.”
The second was “The Middle.”
Read More “Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American”
This past week, I was able to get a hold of Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms before he embarks on a full US tour, including an expertly planned “troll job” of a gig on August 21st at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping venue with Laura Jane Grace. In this interview, we talked about the circumstances that led to this show, the things he admires most about Laura, his songwriting process, and how the pandemic delayed a lot of his creativity and motivation. Brendan’s “Here Goes Nothin'” tour begins on July 30th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and will wrap up in Cleveland, Ohio on August 22nd. Merchandise for the Four Seasons Total Landscaping show is now on sale.
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On the third full-length record from pop-rockers A Story Told, called American Made, they channel all of the best elements of their band and their past work into a refreshing mix of great tunes. The first single released, “I Don’t Mind (To Get A Little Hurt Sometimes)” does a nice job of re-introducing the band to their fans, and brings some new elements into the fold for those just getting to know A Story Told. This record of 12 songs clocking in at just over 36 minutes, are punchy, to the point, and a hell of a lot of fun for this summer season. With so much great momentum going in the band’s favor, it’s no wonder why there is significant buzz surrounding these rockers.
Read More “A Story Told – American Made”
I’m not sure I have ever needed an album more than I needed War Paint.
Sometimes, as a music fan, you lean on the records you love to help get you through things: breakups; losing loved ones; navigating huge tectonic shifts in your life; global pandemics. As someone whose love for music springs from an extremely emotional place, I have leaned on a lot of different albums over the years, for a lot of different reasons.
But even in that context, War Paint, the sophomore LP from Baltimore-based rock band The Dangerous Summer, was an album I needed. I needed it so badly that I listened to it more times in July and August 2011 than I have ever listened to any other album in a two-month span. It was the rhythm of my days and nights; the heartbeat of my dreams; the soundtrack of my summer. To this day, I can’t think of a single thing that happened that season without also remembering the songs on War Paint. For me, that time in my life and this album will always be inextricably intertwined, as if they were hardwired together.
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Just when you think that The Maine are hitting a groove in their musical delivery, they decide to take it up just a notch further and better. XOXO: From Love and Anxiety In Real Time is the perfect soundtrack to this summer of getting back to some sense of normalcy after the dumpster fire of this past year and a half. The Maine are able to channel everything that I love about their band into a crowd-pleasing package of ten songs that clock in at just over 30 minutes. With so much great momentum being carried forth from their last two records (Lovely Little Lonely and You Are Ok), the band are able to do the near-impossible of following up those amazing albums with a record worthy of being caught in the same breath of them.
Read More “The Maine – XOXO: From Love and Anxiety In Real Time”
This past week, I was able to chat with Joe Principe (bassist) of Rise Against before the band embarks on one of their most ambitious tours to date. In this interview we discussed where the title of their excellent new album Nowhere Generation came from, the songwriting process that the band went through during these sessions, what Rise Against plan to do with their bonus material, as well as how Joe stayed active in the causes he is passionate about during the pandemic. Rise Against will be starting their headlining tour with support from the Descendents and The Menzingers.
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This past week, I was able to connect with Elliot Douglas, better known as the artist M.A.G.S. for a Zoom interview. In this enlightening interview, he discussed where the title of his new album Say Things That Matter (out everywhere on August 13th) originated from, his unique upbringing with a variety of musical styles, his connection to the emo and pop-punk scene, as well as how his upcoming tour preparations are going. I also asked M.A.G.S. about this new “wave” of artists who are creating their own trend, and how he sees himself fitting with the music landscape today.
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Looking back at the abruptly quick 10 year anniversary of Taking Back Sunday’s self-titled record was an incredibly joyous task. At first, this record got lost in my listening shuffle of so many other great albums that came out in 2011, but I thought it would only be fair to write a retrospective in case others have made the same mistake I did and not come to fully appreciate this album. Taking Back Sunday is the fifth studio album of the band’s career, and having gone through a few lineup re-shuffling over the years, this record found John Nolan and Shaun Cooper returning into the fold after some time away from TBS. The band chemistry is absolutely majestic on these songs that sound even better than they did when I first heard them. With great singles like “Faith (When I Let You Down)” and “This Is All Now,” I’m kicking myself for not revisiting this legendary album sooner.
Read More “Taking Back Sunday – Taking Back Sunday”
A lot has changed in the world of Zebrahead since I last connected with Ali Tabatabaee. The band recently announced that longtime guitarist and front-man, Matty Lewis, had left the band, the pandemic rocked these road veterans touring plans, and the punk rockers were looking for a way to pick up the pieces in searching for their next lead singer of Zebrahead. Enter Adrian Estrella (front-man of Assuming We Survive) to take the coveted reins of the band as they begin their third chapter. In this interview, Ali and Adrian discuss the circumstances that led to Matty Lewis leaving Zebrahead, why the band chose Adrian to move forward with the recording of their new album and upcoming touring plans, as well as what they both think the future holds in store for this latest exciting version of the band.
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We’re a little over half way into 2021 … so it’s that time again to recap the year in music. Below, you will find both our combined staff top 30, as well as individual lists from our contributors and moderators. Here’s hoping you find something new to love.
Note: You can share your own list in our music forum.
Read More “The Best Albums of 2021 (So Far)”
When Modest Mouse’s The Moon & Antarctica turned 20 last year, I was so excited to learn that many contributors here loved the band as much as I do. Now that we all assemble like The Avengers from time to time to take on new releases like Olivia Rodrigo’s SOUR, it only made sense for us to put our heads together for Modest Mouse’s new album The Golden Casket. I was lucky to be joined by Aaron Mook and Mary Varvaris as we dove headfirst into the band’s first new full length since 2015. Here we broke down all that we enjoyed, any potential hiccups and took a big picture look at the band as whole.
Read More “The Golden Casket is Good News For People Who Love Modest Mouse”
The latest record from the now 21-year old artist known as Beabadoobee, is her fifth overall EP, and follows the massive success she experienced on her debut LP Fake It Flowers. A lot of this record, called Our Extended Play, was co-written with members of The 1975, including front-man Matty Healy and George Daniel. Her collaboration with the veteran hit-makers pays major dividends as she has released four of her most immediately gripping and urgent songs to date.
Our Extended Play opens on the right foot with the brilliantly constructed “Last Day on Earth” that features some faint backing vocals from Healy to bring depth to Beabadoobee’s tender voice. The song is largely constructed around a looped electric guitar riff that doesn’t stray too far from its original composition. She sings passionately on the second verse, “You made it along / You got a problem with Peter, you got a problem with John / You can’t go on / All this follow me shit / I want to get fucked up at home / Be naked alone / And turn up my phone / Because this song I wrote is just so fucking sick, it goes…” The song has a lot of the same vibes of The 1975’s “Me and You Together Song,” but Beabadoobee’s trademark vocal delivery allows the song to really feel fresh.
Read More “Beabadoobee – Our Extended Play”
There’s something about summer that changes the way we process things. Could it be the heat signaling to our brains that carefree days are ahead? Or, does it signal the promise of starting anew and discovering ourselves all over again? Summer Salt investigates both of these questions on Sequoia Moon, produced by Phil Ek (Modest Mouse, Fleet Foxes). What the band does well on this record is to channel the carefree days of sitting by the ocean and letting all the other worries melt away. For newcomers to the band, the vibes felt on this album are similar to Vacationer, Two Door Cinema Club, and JR JR. Look no further for the album that could very well be your soundtrack to this summer.
Read More “Summer Salt – Sequoia Moon”