Review: Brand New – Daisy

AbsolutePunk Oct 4, 2009

Brand New never sent you a lyric booklet for their 2006 release, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, and that probably pisses you off.

Brand New doesn’t write “hooky” songs like “Jude Law and a Semester Abroad” or “The Quiet Things No One Ever Knows” anymore, and that probably pisses you off.

Brand New doesn’t like to talk to American press very often, if at all, and that probably pisses you off.

Brand New gave their new songs short, vague titles instead of quirky, long-winded titles, and that probably pisses you off.

Brand New named their new album Daisy, and that probably pisses you off.

Brand New decided to place a fox in a forest on the cover, and that probably pisses you off.

Brand New doesn’t care.

AbsolutePunk Sep 30, 2009

When it comes to AFI’s legacy, there are two sides to the story: there is the independent, hardcore punk outfit that shook stages of local circuits for several years in the 1990’s, and there is the considerably more popular band that signed to a major-label in 2002. The debate continues to rage on as to which version of the band is “better,” but the fact of the matter is AFI has never been the same one-trick pony some punk bands can often remain. By the time the new millennium rolled around, The Art of Drowning was goth-punk perfection and shot AFI’s name into the stratosphere. They were no longer the wildly spastic hardcore band that answered things and stayed fashionable — they were now full-blown rock stars (oh snap, someone call the DIY police, because they be breaking all kinds of punk rock “laws”).

Blake Solomon Sep 23, 2009

This is it how it should always happen. Relient K, a band once known for quirky little pop culture references peppered with mild God-isms, is now a pop-rock powerhouse. With more former members than current ones, the band has somehow outlasted every complication, including 2007’s absolutely terrible output Five Score and Seven Years Ago. That abomination’s only silver lining is its sneak peeks at the joy within Forget and Not Slow Down. Singer Matt Thiessen has bounced back with the best choruses and most emotionally charged songs of his career. But what becomes most apparent during Forget and Not Slow Down is its cohesiveness, that indefinable feeling when everything is exactly where it should be. A first for the band, intros like “Oasis” and outros like “Flare” create brief moments of reflection before their counterparts continue the noble task of blowing us away. Lucky you, welcome to 2009’s Swan Song.

AbsolutePunk Sep 22, 2009

Every new year, resolutions are far easier to purposely ignore than to follow through with. For instance, being fiscally conservative when you just gotta have their cool new rollerblades (here I come, Venice Boardwalk!), or cutting down on fast food (but they’re two tacos for 99 cents, you bastard!). The new year brings out new opportunities, a fresh start and more importantly, an end to everything that came before it (The Happeningnever happened).

Hailing from Flint, Michigan, The Swellers are four average dudes who come from an environment in which upbringing is reflected in your attitude and getting out of dodge isn’t as easy as it seems when high school finally ends. The working-class town was one of the focal points in the documentary film ~~Bowling For ColumbineFlashdance~~ Roger and Me and for the Swellers’ sophomore full-length (and Fueled by Ramen debut), Ups and Downsizing, is a coming-of-age record about everything going on in their own lives — and seeing it all from the sidelines as well.

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Review: Saosin – In Search of Solid Ground

AbsolutePunk Sep 2, 2009

It is not a well-kept secret that I was a bit enamored with Saosin’s debut LP. The timing of that record and the execution of it seemed damn near perfect at the time. The stars just kind of aligned for that release, and Saosin has been riding the wave ever since. And going back to listen to that self-titled gem now, I still stand by everything I said – the combination of soaring vocals, upper echelon musicianship, and flawless production made for a work deserving of its transcendence beyond the post-hardcore roots that spawned it. So here we are, three years later – has the band used its accomplishments and notoriety as a launchpad to create another killer record? Or is their sophomore effort a perfunctory exercise in simply going through the motions?

Drew Beringer Sep 2, 2009

Every Time I Die wants to destroy the world. While their previous albums have inflicted some damage on Mother Earth, the Buffalo quintet is not satisfied. The fact of the matter is ETID wants to leave their mark, so they’ve promised that their fifth studio album (and Epitaph debut), New Junk Aesthetic, would blow a huge gaping asshole into the earth. So if you’ve felt the earth shake recently, that’s just me recklessly playing this album way too loud, as New Junk Aesthetic is the heaviest Every Time I Die record to date.

Working with producer Steve Evetts once again, Every Time I Die set out to give manbirth to the most vicious record off their career; a record that kicks you in the teeth, shreds your balls, and shows no mercy. [Opening track “Roman Holiday” sets the bar high, as fuzzy feedback and a dirty riff scribble their way across the song before bowing out to a devastating breakdown that could TKO Brock Lesnar. “The Marvelous Slut” is full of urgency as vocalist Keith Buckley yells, “Why do I always give myself away?,” as Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan’s vocalist) adds some nice backing screams.

AbsolutePunk Sep 2, 2009

The Absolute 100 is an annual collection of our favorite lesser-known bands. Our point with this feature (as it was in 2007 and 2008) is that there’s still hope. The future of music can be bright, you just gotta find the right blurbs to screw in. Some of the bands on this list are signed and some are already on their way to selling out tours. Some are barely even on their parents’ radars. Throw cred out the window; we don’t care if you’ve heard any of these acts before. We want EVERYONE in on these secrets.

We are an unique crew of diligent AP.net workers – not all our playlists are carbon copies. Our goal, as it always has been, is to deliver a constant stream of information about music that motivates and inspires. Consider this a promise: there is at least one band on this list that you will enjoy. And if you don’t, then let’s hope it’s because you already love one of them enough. – Julia Conny

Drew Beringer Aug 25, 2009

When The Format went on hiatus a year and a half ago, many fans of their music cried tears (maybe even pastel colored tears?). But dry your eyes, because a musician as talented as Nate Ruess wasn’t going to be out of the music-making business for long. His newest project, fun., is a collaborative effort between Ruess, Andrew Dost (ex-Anathallo), and Jack Antonoff (of Steel Train). Their self-released debut, Aim & Ignite, is a ten track pop adventure with help from producer Steven McDonald, arranger Joseph Manning Jr., and contributions from other musicians.

Drew Beringer Aug 20, 2009

I must’ve been asleep when this takeover happened. The entire “genre” of techno/crunk/scream garbage just broke out overnight it seems. There was no warning, just one day “bands” like Brokencyde, I Set My Friends On Fire, and the like where picking up fans left and right. Not to be outdone is Breathe Carolina, who has unleashed their Fearless debut, Hello Fascination, to unfortunate souls.

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Review: Thrice – Beggars

AbsolutePunk Aug 12, 2009

As children, we are all prone to believing just about anything we see, particularly when a figure we idolize bears superhuman strength or the uncanny ability to shoot a basketball from space, hit it off the Statue of Liberty, off the St. Louis Arch, around the rim of the Grand Canyon and still get nothin’ but net. You see, when those we place on pedestals falter, it stings us on a personal level and recovery is crucial in order to restore our lost faith. So, if the case is your hero gets his dunk blocked or say, gives baseball a go when it’s obviously not his forte, their ability to continually prove why you put them on said pedestal will inevitably bowl you right over.

AbsolutePunk Aug 6, 2009

For a band that has gone through numerous member changes and only retained one original member, Underoath are doing pretty damn good. When the band lost their vocalist Dallas Taylor, it seemed like the end was near, but with continued fate, the group found a new vocalist named Spencer Chamberlain and they haven’t looked back since. The group has become one of the biggest bands not only in the post-hardcore scene, but the music scene in general. With every record, the band continues to push their songwriting abilities. After the highly successful album, Define The Great Line, the band went on lengthy tours and continued to work away at trying to topple their last effort. Knowing that this was going to take some time, they released the DVD 777. The DVD was mostly footage of the band on tour supporting the album, but it also included a short concert that was done for Myspace’s Secret Shows.

AbsolutePunk Aug 5, 2009

You have to give Stephen Christian credit – the man is far from your typical rock star. Of course he is best known for his work with scene staples Anberlin, but Christian has a degree in psychology, has written a book, co-founded a non-profit organization, and is in general a supremely nice guy. So when he accumulated a pile of songs that didn’t quite fit what Anberlin was doing, it makes sense that Stephen wouldn’t take the easy way out. He could certainly tweak the songs enough so they could be peppered amongst future Anberlin releases, but rather than compromise the cohesiveness of those works and the integrity of these compositions, Christian instead decided to give them a proper release under the Anchor & Braille moniker. This was by no means some hasty, overnight project. It is a true labor of love that has been in progress (in some form or another) for almost a decade, and with the quality of Felt, it shows.

Gregory Robson Aug 3, 2009

Few music critics, and/or consumers, were expecting the self-titled debut from Nightmare of You (NOY), the braintrust of ex-Movielife guitarist Brandon Reilly, to be as engaging as it was. And yet in the fall of 2005, Reilly and his three friends: now-departed drummer Sammy Seigler, guitarist Joe McCaffrey and now-departed bassist Ryan Heil, churned out a near-flawless work of 11, literate, Smiths-inspired offerings. Equal parts creative and caustic, the self-titled was an auspicious effort that marked the start of something very special. Or so we thought. The Long Island quartet followed their shimmering debut with the brief, but sonically different Bang EP, a disc that geared more towards experimentation and improvisation. From the danceable title track to the off-kilter “Herbal Jazz Cigarette,” NOY seemed to push the creative boundaries a bit further than most were expecting. So it comes with baited breath, that the group has released their second and long-awaited full-length Infomaniac, without two of its founding members.

Drew Beringer Jun 24, 2009

It’s no secret that I wasn’t particularly fond of Crisis, Alexisonfire’s third album and Vagrant Records debut. In fact, I was very disheartened by it because any band that has the talent Alexisonfire possesses should never release an album that bad. I hoped that Crisis was just an aberration and not a trend, and after waiting nearly three years, my fear has been calmed. Old Crows/Young Cardinals is a gem, as it is the album we’ve been waiting for the Ontario quintet to write their entire careers.

Produced by Julius Butty, Old Crows/Young Cardinals takes the best progressive parts of Crisis and the intensity of the first two AOF records, making the album a force to be reckoned with. It’s fast, aggressive, and in-your-face; paced by the soul of punk rock and layered with the triple-vocal attack of George Pettit, Dallas Green, and Wade MacNeil. “Old Crows” kicks off the album with a dirty guitar riff and is carried by Pettit’s new gruff vocal delivery. Green makes his first appearance on the high-octane “Young Cardinals,” as he rips through the chorus, while drummer Jordan Hastings sets the tempo.

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Review: The Dear Hunter – Act III: Life and Death

AbsolutePunk Jun 22, 2009

So here we are – halfway through the sprawling six-volume epic of The Dear Hunter, and the road has been anything but smooth. After the universally adored Act II came out and gained traction in the scene, the band was almost dismantled by the departure of three members, leaving the future of the band and its opus in clouded doubt. Thankfully for fans, Casey Crescenzo is persistent to the greatest degree, and along with Erick Serna, rebuilt The Dear Hunter to rise again.

One might think that with this discord and splintering, the work of The Dear Hunter might suffer in kind, but such is not the case. If anything, Act III: Life and Death ends up being a much more focused, coherent offering, and exhibits no signs of faltering or lost momentum. Whereas Act II: The Meaning Of & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading was the progeny of the band experimenting across the entire sonic spectrum, Act III is the sound of a band finding their sound, and honing it to a fine point. Act II was lauded for its diversity, but Act III almost makes it sound disconnected in comparison. Act II was almost certainly the band (and Casey) finding itself, and Act III is the first revelation of the growth to come from said self-awareness.

Review: Brand New – Daisy

Review: AFI – Crash Love

Review: Relient K – Forget and Not Slow Down

Review: The Swellers – Ups and Downsizing

Review: Saosin – In Search of Solid Ground

Review: Every Time I Die – New Junk Aesthetic

The Absolute 100 (2009)

Review: Fun. – Aim & Ignite

Review: Breathe Carolina – Hello Fascination

Review: Thrice – Beggars

Review: Underoath – Survive, Kaleidoscope

Review: Anchor & Braille – Felt

Review: Nightmare of You – Infomaniac

Review: Alexisonfire – Old Crows/Young Cardinals

Review: The Dear Hunter – Act III: Life and Death