Review: Marc-Alan Prince – Runaway

On the title track of Runaway, Marc-Alan Prince tells the story of, “When I left home I was only 16 / No clue about the world / No clue about anything,” over an energetic acoustic guitar. His voice reminded me a bit of other great storyteller punk singers like Kristopher Roe (The Ataris), Brian Fallon (The Gaslight Anthem), and Mike Ness (Social Distortion), and Prince’s working-man approach to his songs is drenched in authenticity and meaning behind each personal lyric. The second solo acoustic album from Prince was produced by Max Cunningham, and was recorded in Austin, Texas at a rental house that was transformed into a studio. Marc-Alan Prince showcases his great songwriting craft on this enjoyable EP that is sure to evoke some sort of emotions from anyone who takes the time to listen to it.

Adam Grundy 2 months ago

Based on the circumstances after American Football’s last record, LP3, it would easy to understand why the band would need a solid seven years to reset before today’s release of LP4. The previous album came out in March of 2019, and when American Football were gearing up for a break after touring in support of the record, the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drummer Steve Lamos quit the band in July of 2021 due to personal reasons, while the rest of the band tried to get writing done via Zoom sessions, bearing little fruit. Around that same time, Mike and Nate Kinsella were focusing on their side project, Lies, where they met up with producer Sonny DiPerri. Encouraged by that partnership, American Football would regroup, Lamos rejoined in 2023, and the band would work with DiPerri on LP4. It’s a record that grapples with demons like loss, shame, divorce, and self-loathing in a lyrically heavy package. American Football once again prove why they’re one of the best artists to make music that is simultaneously moody, lyrically deep, and filled with solid musicianship.

Adam Grundy 2 months ago

There’s something to be said when a band recognizes their strengths as a unit and hones in on those qualities that make them special. Metric have returned with their tenth studio album, Romanticize the Dive, that finds the band reuniting with Synthetica and Fantasies producer Gavin Brown. It’s easy to see how this trusted partnership pays off in the music as Metric continue to strengthen their songwriting all over this solid effort. While this record may not have the runaway success of Fantasies or more recently, Art of Doubt, Romanticize the Dive is comfortable in revisiting the band’s humble beginnings and offering subtle advice for others to follow to benefit their mental health and overall well-being.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

The 12th studio album from Alt Rock legends Foo Fighters, called Your Favorite Toy, is a ten-track effort that was produced by the band and Oliver Roman. This marks the first time Foo Fighters have gone outside of longtime producer/collaborator Greg Kurstin since 2014’s Sonic Highways, and in retrospect that was a bit of a risk on Dave Grohl and his bandmates’ part. Your Favorite Toy sounds like a big rock record, was recorded in Grohl’s home studio in Los Angeles, and yet when you wrap your ears around the LP you can’t help but feel like it’s not up to the same quality of the band’s most recent output. It’s the first Foo Fighters record to have Ilan Rubin (Paramore, NIN, Angels & Airwaves) behind the kit, and he does a commendable (if not the near-impossible) job of filling in for the late Taylor Hawkins. Some of the singles, like “Caught in the Echo” and lead single of “Asking For a Friend”, feel like a blend between what Foo Fighters have done on key albums like Wasting Light and One By One, while the other material that surrounds these key songs could have used a little more fine-tuning.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

If there’s one thing you can say about The Maine, it’s that they know how to put together a great show from top to bottom. During the concert I attended in Washington, D.C. at the legendary 9:30 Club, The Maine’s first headlining tour in nearly 2 years, the experience was incredible. The energy in the crowd was fairly consistent from the time Broadside took the stage, things kept moving during Grayscale, and the audience vibed with the synth rock of Nightly. The Maine proved they belonged on top of the billing, and possibly the world, with a career-spanning set of 22 songs that had at least one track from each of the band’s ten studio albums.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

Following in the footsteps of fellow CHVRCHES band member Lauren Mayberry, who released a solo record called Vicious Creature during the band’s hiatus, Martin Doherty and longtime drummer of CHVRCHES Jonny Scott have created their own project known as The Leaving. Ultimate Buzz lives up to its name in more ways than one on The Leaving’s debut, as it creates a ton of hype around this project that quietly stormed onto the music scene with the singles of “Pray” and “Saved.” Fans of the main project of CHVRCHES will be immediately enamored with what Doherty and Scott have crafted with The Leaving on Ultimate Buzz. It’s an album that features thrilling and uplifting vocals, great professional production, and the incorporation of non-programmed drums gives the record a nice punch to it. Doherty leans on his extensive experience as a key contributor and co-vocalist in CHVRCHES to make an incredible artistic statement with The Leaving’s Ultimate Buzz.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

At a time when it’s easy to feel angry about the state of the world, Scarboro have returned with their sophomore album, called Hate Season, that encapsulates these feelings into a cohesive package of punk rock. The set was produced by Brian DiMeglio and Scarboro, and was mastered by Will Yip. The NYC-based band is Jack (bass/vocals), Shi (guitar/vocals), and Radhika (drums), and their tight-knit musicianship is reminiscent of other punk bands like The Explosion, early-Bad Religion, and The Casualties. Sprawling 14 songs and clocking in at just over 27 minutes, Hate Season is a blast of punk rock energy that rarely lets up on its attack.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

Record Store Day is tomorrow! With a fresh slate of new vinyl reissues, exciting exclusives, and in some cases, the first pressings of many key titles, the observance comes with a lot of excitement each time it rolls around in April. The full list of RSD releases can be found here, but be sure to check in with your local indie record store to see what they will be carrying. In this preview, I’ll be diving into some of the most sought after releases and offer some tips for newcomers to secure these titles.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

Last week I attended “The Soundtrack of Your Life” tour at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland that featured the opening acts of Arrows In Action and I Don’t Know How But They Found Me, and was headlined by Boys Like Girls. Each of the bands put on a great set of music that covered multiple phases of their respective careers, and the fans in attendance for the sold out concert showed their appreciation for the three-band lineup throughout the evening. While the openers did a great job of getting the crowd ready for Boys Like Girls, it was the headliners who rightfully stole the show by burning through two full albums (Love Drunk and Boys Like Girls) in breakneck fashion. Boys Like Girls put on one hell of a performance, they showed their deepest of appreciation for their fans who spent their hard-earned money to see them, and simultaneously proved the lasting power of the pop-punk genre.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

The fifth studio album from Broadside, called Nowhere, At Last, is a great mix of styles that the band has tinkered with over the past few efforts. Into The Raging Sea marked a dramatic, and darker turn in the band’s sound, while Broadside’s previous album of Hotel Bleu found them painting with broad and colorful strokes. Nowhere, At Last seems most comfortable brooding in the darkness, as marked by the color aesthetic used in the album cover art and their recent music videos. The music itself found on this record is vibrant, and it blends great guitar parts over electronic elements to keep things at their most engaging and interesting. Lead vocalist Oliver Baxxter continues to improve his vocal performance all over this LP that is brimming with great thematic elements, thoughtful lyrics, and impressive songwriting.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

Grief can come in many forms and affect people in a multitude of ways. Some are able to channel this feeling into a form of a therapy that they incorporate into their art, while others become crippled by the weight of the tragedy. I Am The Avalanche frontman Vinnie Caruana shared the inspiration behind the band’s new studio album The Horror Show by explaining, “Experiencing ultimate loss will change you on a cellular level. About 75% of the lyrics were written after my best friend passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.” I Am The Avalanche are able to rally around their frontman’s deeply personal loss in his life with an album built on friendship, loss, grief, and with love and appreciation for their music and the legacy they’ve built for themselves as a band. Caruana continued, “This record can become a lifelong companion for those who let it in. The message is simple: You are stronger than you think you are and you are not alone.” Nearly 22 years into their career as a band, I Am The Avalanche have made another strong and memorable statement with The Horror Show.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

Coming off of the success of their self-titled era, The Maine have returned with their “green era” at a time when interest in the band is at a fever pitch. The band sought out to create a full artistic statement of an album for their 10th studio album to date, and was written and recorded in the same sequencing as the final tracklisting found on Joy Next Door. “I suppose it’s only fitting that our tenth album has been one of the toughest to make to date,” lead vocalist John O’Callaghan says of Joy Next Door. “Most of the personal friction I’ve felt during the making of this record has derived from having to face my own struggle with feeling like I have everything I could have ever dreamed of, yet I can’t seem to allow myself to be fully present and appreciate the weight of a very fortunate life.” Some of the growing pains that both O’Callaghan and The Maine go through on this record bleed into the overall listening experience of Joy Next Door, but it’s an album that’s worthy of the legacy that the band has created for themselves.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

The latest album from math rock/emo band, Palette Knife, is a windows-down blast of punk rock energy fit for the soundtrack of your summer. Keyframe features plenty of nerdy math rock elements, paired with great guitar breakdowns, and soaring melodies that get back to the early 00’s heyday of when pop-punk was king. The three-piece band from Ohio is Alec Licata (lead vocals/guitar), Chris McGrath (bass/vocals), and Aaron Queener (drums/vocals), and they highlight their growth as a band here. Palette Knife continue to “sharpen their blade” and have made their most immediately gratifying work to date on Keyframe.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

Coming off of the success of their debut, self-titled EP, Clarion have returned with Blue Fairy, a follow-up EP that expands upon the sound the East LA noise-rock/shoegaze band set out to create when they first formed in 2023. Their initial breakthrough single of “Hello Juliet” has since been streamed over 20 million times across all platforms, and Clarion appear poised to breakout in a big way on Blue Fairy. Clarion is Saya Oliva (vocals/bass), Joseph Quezada (drums), and Anthony Sanchez (guitar), and they’re built for sustained success on this vibrant new record brimming with unlimited potential for the band.

Adam Grundy 3 months ago

A couple of weeks ago I was able to schedule a Zoom interview with Palette Knife to discuss their forthcoming new album, Keyframe, that drops on all streaming services this Friday, April 10th. Palette Knife is a three-piece emo band comprised of band members Alec Licata (vocals/guitar), Chris McGrath (bass/vocals), and Aaron Queener (drums). In this interview, I asked the band about some of the songs found on Keyframe, their writing process, and upcoming touring plans. If you’re enjoying the interview, please consider pre-ordering Keyframe here.

Review: Marc-Alan Prince – Runaway

Review: American Football – American Football (LP4)

Review: Metric – Romanticize The Dive

Review: Foo Fighters – Your Favorite Toy

The “Green Era” Blossoms During The Maine’s D.C. Concert at the 9:30 Club

Review: The Leaving – Ultimate Buzz

Review: Scarboro – Hate Season

Record Store Day 2026 Preview

You’ll Always Be My Thunder: How Boys Like Girls Reignited the Pop-Punk Flame On “The Soundtrack of Your Life” Tour

Review: Broadside – Nowhere, At Last

Review: I Am The Avalanche – The Horror Show

Review: The Maine – Joy Next Door

Review: Palette Knife – Keyframe

Review: Clarion – Blue Fairy

Interview: Palette Knife