Taking Back Sunday have long been a divisive band. From swaths of fans who only ever loved the band’s classic debut, to those who swear by the middle and most commercial era of the band, to those who’ve just hopped on and prefer the band’s newest material — there just doesn’t seem a way to please every group of Taking Back Sunday fans.
Gallant discusses his full-length debut album Ology, the goal of always keeping things as raw and unfiltered as possible, and how he learned to become confident with his past history.
In a year full of good music, it can be difficult to decide which records deserve your attention most. It seems as though every week has at least two releases worth dedicating precious listening time to. At that rate it can quickly become an overwhelming task to simply keep up. That’s why I find it necessary to tell you that if there is one must listen record this year: it’s the latest offering from Touché Amoré, titled Stage Four.
I’m of the mind that no artist—band or solo—has had a more stellar run this decade than Dawes. After debuting in 2009 with the promising North Hills, the Los Angeles quartet fired off Nothing Is Wrong (2011), Stories Don’t End (2013), and All Your Favorite Bands (2015) in the space of just under four years. Not only are all of those records among the best of the decade so far, but they are also all markedly different from one another. Nothing Is Wrong is pitch-perfect Laurel Canyon folk rock, emulating Jackson Browne so successfully that Browne actually agreed to provide backing vocals on a track. Stories Don’t End took the band’s sound in a more modern, studio-driven pop direction, while last year’s All Your Favorite Bands was an Americana road trip of a record that returned the band to their live, improv-heavy roots. The latter features arguably the best playing of any rock album released since 2010.
From the moment it was released, it seemed like John Mayer’s Continuum was poised to be a classic. That’s not because Mayer was particular respected at the time. Sure, Mayer hadn’t yet put his foot in his mouth by making stupid comments to interviewers. Still, though, the Berklee dropout turned pop sensation wasn’t exactly anyone’s first bet in the “guess who will have career longevity” game. It was obvious from early on that Mayer had chops, and equally obvious that he could write a damn sturdy pop song. (Listen to Room for Squares and tell me those tunes don’t still sound like hits.) But he was a teen pop icon first and foremost, and most of his songs seemed destined to become relics of early 2000s radio. You need only listen to “Your Body Is a Wonderland” once to realize how easily Mayer could have been a pop cultural punchline 10 years after the fact.
Frontman Jean-Philip Grobler talks about St. Lucia’s second album Matter, his approach of exploring any and every idea, and realizing the importance of speaking out about what you feel.
An acoustic duo may seem out of place in the alternative scene, but over the last two years This Wild Life has managed to make themselves right at home in the Warped world. Maybe it’s the beard or the tattoos. More likely it’s the soaring choruses, catchy melodies, and heart-wrenching lyrics that have grabbed listeners’ attention.
In part two of our two-part interview, guitarist Christian McAlhaney gives an inside look into the surreal return of Acceptance, what it was like writing the band’s first album back, how Phantoms holds up 10 years later, and why they have no plans of leaving again any time soon.
This first impression was originally posted as a live blog for supporters in our forums on September 6th, 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.
It’s here.
It’s time.
I’m going to do a first listen thread for the upcoming Jimmy Eat World album, Integrity Blues. A couple of thoughts going in: I usually try and listen to an album three times or so before doing a first listen thread, so I kind of have an idea of what I wanna talk about on each song. But because it’s JEW, and because a lot of people have been waiting for this one, and because they’re my favorite band, I’m going to do this having only listened to the album once all the way through.
I’m clearly very bias with this band, they’re basically my favorite band ever, so you should know that as well going in … like, there’s no objective way I can listen to these guys, so I’m not going to even try.
My first over-arching impressions is that this album is very Futures-esque in a lot of ways. Layers, dark, big huge pop-rock. But it includes some Invented and CTL themes as well. I think that by and large this is what I love best from the band, and I think recording with JMJ was a fantastic choice. That big huge sound just works so well with this band and on these songs they really sound big, polished, and it’s almost a complete 180 from Damage in how it sounds.
As always, I reserve the right to change my mind at another time, and this isn’t really a “review” as much as it is me going through and listening to an album and just writing down my thoughts on it while it plays.
Acceptance are back and have spent the last year working on a new album. I recently had the chance to talk with lead singer Jason Vena about getting the band back together and what lead to that decision, the differences in the music industry from when the band first broke into the music scene to now, and what the new songs are going to sound like. We also talked about the entire process of recording this album, how the band is taking their time through the process, and why it took ten years for Jason to once again feel like he had something he wanted to say musically. Our full conversation can be found below, only lightly edited, and make sure you pre-order the band’s upcoming album if you haven’t already.
Guitarist Kevin Skaff talks about changing it up on A Day to Remember’s new record Bad Vibrations, embracing the garage band mentality again, writing heavier songs with everyone involved, and why history is cool.
Bishop Briggs talks about opening for Coldplay on their “A Head Full of Dreams” tour, experiencing a hit single with “River,” making everything about the music, and never having a Plan B.
Bayside have steadily become one of the preeminent forces in alternative music by simply being themselves throughout their entire career. The band has a unique sense of self which displays itself every time they release new music. The band’s seventh full-length record, Vacancy, just dropped last week, and to celebrate, they hit the road with some incredible bands supporting them: The Menzingers and Sorority Noise. I’ll have more on that tour a little later this week, but for now, enjoy my conversation with Anthony Raneri and Nick Ghanbarian about managing fan expectations, what they feel their responsibility is as a band with a platform, and how you continue to write the most honest music of your career seven albums deep.
Knowing the members of Sianvar, the quality of their work should never have been up for debate. Featuring members of Dance Gavin Dance, A Lot Like Birds, Hail the Sun, and Stolas, the lineup is a veritable who’s-who of modern progressive rock. It was never a secret that Sianvar was made up of talented members, but I don’t know if anyone expected the group’s debut full-length to sound as good as it does. Stay Lost almost makes the members’ previous outings look like warm ups.
One thing I’ve come to respect about Bayside is they’ve always known who they are. They’ve never felt the need to reinvent themselves, and they’ve spent the last 16 years working to perfect a sound that’s entirely their own.
The band’s latest effort, Vacancy, is no exception. It is a growling collection of songs that feels familiar on first listen, a true continuation in Bayside’s story and sound.