Review: Saosin – Along the Shadow

Jason Tate May 3, 2016

This first impression was originally posted as a live blog for supporters in our forums on May 3rd, 2016. First impressions are meant to be quick, fun, initial impressions on an album or release as I listen to it for the first time. It’s a running commentary written while listening to an album — not a review. More like a diary of thoughts. This post has been lightly edited for structure and flow.

Let’s take a listen to the new Saosin album. Same thing goes as before — spoilers abound, I reserve the right to change my opinion as time goes on. I’ve got multiple beers sitting in front of me, and I’m hitting play and just going to type out my thoughts as I listen.

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Review: Parker Millsap – The Very Last Day

Craig Manning May 3, 2016

The country, Americana, and folk genres are known for their storytelling. Specifically, these genres are often recognized for taking microcosms and making them feel like the most important stories on the planet. On The Very Last Day, though, the third full-length album from Parker Millsap, the 23-year-old singer/songwriter is writing about nothing less than the end of the world. This album is a big, bold, and brash work—a record about apocalyptic wars, religious strife, the act of burning buildings to the ground, and plenty of death and rapture. The Devil, God, and Jesus Christ all make appearances. There’s a song about a soldier who comes home from war, feels forsaken by everything, and starts robbing gas station mini marts to make up for it. There’s another song about a preacher’s son falling in love with another man. Throughout, Millsap evangelizes from the front pulpit, his fire-and-brimstone roar hitting the balance somewhere between gospel and Led Zeppelin-flavored rock ‘n’ roll.

Interview: Chris Sorenson of Saosin

Jonathan Bautts May 2, 2016

Bassist Chris Sorenson looks at the past, present and future of Saosin, including the long road behind the band’s comeback album Along the Shadow and welcoming original singer Anthony Green back into the fold.

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Review: PUP – The Dream is Over

Jason Tate Apr 30, 2016

This first impression was originally posted as a live blog for supporters in our forums on April 30th, 2016. First impressions are meant to be quick, fun, initial impressions on an album or release as I listen to it for the first time. It’s a running commentary written while listening to an album — not a review. More like a diary of thoughts. This post has been lightly edited for structure and flow.

Ok, so it’s about 9pm on a Saturday, I’m mostly done with my tasks for the weekend, and I’m going to crack a beer and dive into this new PUP album for the first time. I thought it may be fun to write some thoughts down and kind of “live blog” the first listen. Maybe this won’t work very well, but I kinda wanna try it and see what shakes out. If it’s successful, and you all like it, I’ll try and do it again in the future for other albums.

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Interview: Lonnie Angle and Thomas Dutton of Cardiknox

Jonathan Bautts Apr 27, 2016

Lonnie Angle and Thomas Dutton discuss the beginnings of Cardiknox, making their debut album Portrait, managing new transitions, and exploring personal avenues through music.

Noah Gundersen Live in Grand Rapids

Craig Manning Apr 26, 2016

Last Friday night I saw Noah Gundersen do something I’ve seen very few artists do: walk out onstage alone, with no backing band and no opening act, sit down in a chair, pick up an acoustic guitar, and start playing. He’d interact with the audience more—and make a surprising number of jokes—later in the show, but for now, he wanted to get right to the point: the music.

There’s something to be said for a concert with high production values. There’s something to be said for light shows and setlists where every moment has been meticulously planned — right down to the dialogue between songs. But there’s also something to be said for a show where an artist just comes out and acts like he’s playing songs in his living room. As someone who just made an entire album in his living room, that was something I appreciated about Noah’s show on Friday.

Moonlighting: The Get Up Kids

Adrian Villagomez Apr 25, 2016

By their nature, musicians are creative. Just because they find success doesn’t mean they don’t like to explore new genres or shake things up. Sometimes their new music doesn’t gel with their current band. Sometimes a band goes on a Ross and Rachel type of break, but the music has to keep flowing. Moonlighting is all about the side projects, the passion projects, the weird and wacky that branch out from the original act.

The Get Up Kids are your older brother’s emo. In their early years, the band members looked like they walked on stage immediately after bagging groceries or tutoring middle school kids. This was long before emo became associated with Hot Topic or bangs. Matt Pryor certainly has some growl to his vocals, but overall the band’s music is approachable, agreeable, heart-on-your-sleeve rock. This is music you wouldn’t be afraid to play in front of your mom. With a catalog featuring grainy distortion (“Coming Clean”), acoustic sing-alongs (“Campfire Kansas”), and new-wavey exploration (“Shatter Your Lungs”), it’s clear The Get Up Kids have never been worried about creating one type of music. The other projects from these members reflect that versatility.

Review: Sorority Noise – It Kindly Stopped For Me

Becky Kovach Apr 21, 2016

Much like the famed Dickinson poem from which Sorority Noise’s latest EP takes its name, It Kindly Stopped For Me is centered on the idea of death. Though the similarities seem to stop there. Because while Dickinson’s Death is a kindly gentleman, traveling alongside her as she makes her journey through life, the band pointedly turns it into an object — death is an “it.”

By stripping death of an identity, Sorority Noise attempts to lessen the power it holds over us. There is no experience more common or more alienating than loss, yet the band manages to break down the walls their own experience created until we’re all collectively shouldering their pain.

To Write Love on Her Arms 10th Anniversary Concert

Gregory Robson Apr 20, 2016

Ten years ago, 19-year-old Renee Yohe was just another addict struggling with her pain. As fate would have it, a journalist, Jamie Tworkowski, caught wind of her plight and offered his support. That encounter would eventually pave the way for the Florida-based nonprofit To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA). In a decade, the organization has offered help to nearly 200,000 people and raised more than $1 million towards counseling and professional solace for those battling depression, self-injury, suicide and more.

Earlier this month at Orlando’s House of Blues at Disney Springs, a sold-out crowd helped fete TWLOHA and its founder Jamie Tworkowski as part of its 10th anniversary Heavy and Light celebration. With a headlining set by Jon Foreman of Switchfoot and support from Arizona’s The Summer Set, Nashville’s Matt Wertz and Renee Yohe herself, the event proved to be a rousing success.

Review: Deftones – Gore

Drew Beringer Apr 18, 2016

It’s been well-documented how tumultuous the nearly 30 year career of Sacramento rock band Deftones has been. From the tragic loss of original bassist Chi Cheng, to the in-fighting, to the passive approach the band took to recording their mid-2000’s records – it’s somewhat remarkable that Deftones didn’t break up years ago. Instead, the band has unleashed Gore, their most fascinating release since 2001’s breakthrough White Pony.

Preparing for Record Store Day

Jason Tate Apr 15, 2016

This weekend is Record Store Day. A time for vinyl nerds to rejoice in a weekend dedicated to their passion, or wax poetic about how it was so much better before it got so popular. Thomas and I discuss this on the podcast this week, but, in preparation for the big day, I asked our friend William Angelos from Creep Records in Philadelphia to put together a write-up of the releases he’s most looking forward to and what to be on the lookout for as you make your way to your local shop.

Review: Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

Craig Manning Apr 12, 2016

I’d go out on a limb and say that, lately, country music has been as healthy and vibrant as it has been in years. Whether thanks to buzz-boosting late night TV appearances for up-and-coming artists, extra interest from music publications, or some of the most intriguing CMA and ACM winner lists…ever, country music seems to be worming its way more and more into the consciousness of music listeners everywhere. Fewer people are taking the “I listen to everything but country” stance; more are slowly dipping their toes into the genre’s considerable depths.

Interview: Abe Cunningham of Deftones

Jonathan Bautts Apr 11, 2016

Drummer Abe Cunningham talks the journey behind Deftonesʼ eighth record, Gore, trying to make full albums in a singles-based world, and playing around with juxtapositions while striving for balance at this point in the band’s career.

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Review: Butch Walker – Afraid of Ghosts

Craig Manning Apr 8, 2016

Sometimes, albums need to be made. Whether motivated by the break-up of a long relationship, the death of a loved one, or some other life-changing incident, there are certain records that aren’t just artistic choices for the musician making them, but artistic necessities. Butch Walker is no stranger to these kinds of records. He made one of them six years ago, after losing his home in a wildfire and getting a new perspective on the things that really mattered; he did it again two years ago, hurrying to finish a set of songs so that his father would hear them before he died. Both of those albums, the 2008 LP Sycamore Meadows and the 2013 EP Peachtree Battle dealt with heartbreaking situations, but turned them into life-affirming statements. The former is a reminder that material possession is never the most important thing in life, while the latter is a love letter to Butch’s father and the relationship the two shared; both are the kind of personal and intimate records artists don’t make anymore.