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Review: Dear Spring – “Every Now and Then”

Adam Grundy

The latest taste of new music from the DC-based pop-punk band Dear Spring is called ”Every Now and Then,” and is filled with great harmonies, back and forth vocals, and a beating heart of purpose in every lyric. The song was produced by Nik Bruzzese, mixed by Ben Green, and mastered by Paul Leavitt. Dear Spring would be perfect for fans of Four Year Strong, Taking Back Sunday, and Hit the Lights, since this band is very much entrenched in that crisp pop-punk sound that many of us have grown to love over the years.

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Review: The Injured List – Blue 32

Adam Grundy

Written largely during the start of the pandemic, The Injured List have returned with their fourth full-length record called Blue 32. The record title is a reference to the quarterback’s signals called out before the snap, and the band’s affinity for writing sad songs packed with plenty of purpose. The album was written mostly by lead vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Nathan Marks and drummer Ashton Parsons, while the band also had some additional friends contribute guitar parts remotely. The Injured List took a unique approach to this album by book-ending the record with the intro/outro tracks of “Adrift” and “Ashore” that help solidify their artistic statement found on Blue 32.

The record opens with the aforementioned intro track called “Adrift” that prepares the listener for the beauty found in my personal favorite in the set, called “Doubt.” That particular song opens with some well-placed synths that eventually break away for heavier-toned guitars and singer Nathan Marks’ anthemic vocals. “Doubt” reminds me a lot of Autopilot Off, with a little bit of The Maine and Mae thrown into the mix for good measure. Things continue to stay great on “Recover,” as drummer Ashton Parsons sets a great beat to allow the band to explore the possibilities of their sound.

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Review: Sandman Sleeps – Crisis Actor

Adam Grundy

Debut albums always carry that weighty hope of grabbing the audience’s attention from the very first note. Sandman Sleeps have stormed onto the music scene with Crisis Actor, an album that the band admits that they strove for painful perfection in its recording process. “We’ve recorded this damn album, like, three times now,” confesses bassist, Alex Peck. In addition to Alex, the band is comprised of vocalist Cristina Peck, drummer Karsten Andersen, guitarist Zack Jones, and Sandman Sleeps’ musical chemistry only further adds to the allure found on their debut. Led by the immediately gripping single called, “Portrait of Jennie,” Sandman Sleeps reminds me of Florence and the Machine, early-Cranberries, and with a modern songwriting twist similar to Middle Kids. The band’s attention to detail pays off widely, as Crisis Actor is a thrilling record from start to finish.

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Review: Telltale – Lie Your Way Out

Adam Grundy

The latest offering of music from Telltale is a solid mix of impactful, hard-hitting songs that still have plenty of substance about them to make you continue to think about the lyrical material. The band tackles themes like mental health, self-doubt, and other more global issues like the climate crisis to round out this EP. Telltale shared this about the new record, “This record is our viewpoint on being a part of the apocalyptic generation. We obsess over zombie films, live in fear of the daily news, and constantly foresee the end of the world. Or rather, the world as we know it. A generation written off as lazy and self-centered, we’re taught to think that something broken can’t be fixed from within.” With interesting guitar parts and uplifting vocals, this band would perfect for fans of bands like Sleeping With Sirens, Hawthorne Heights, and Set It Off.

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Review: Riverby – Absolution

Adam Grundy

The latest offering from Philadelphia’s own Riverby finds the artist on solid footing and tinkering with an aggressive rock sound to pair with their abrasive lyrics. Riverby entered the studio with veteran hit-maker Jim Wirt (Jack’s Mannequin) to craft the album that would become known as Absolution. The band shared this about the concept behind the material, “It’s about ending fear with mortality and finally coming to solutions with your shit, closing the door on things that have been festering: your history and yourself, and making peace with God. I don’t even believe in God, but on the off chance He’s fucking real, I’d like us to be cool.” The band is able to capitalize on their hard-nosed material with one of this year’s most immediately gripping records to date.

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Review: Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends

Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
Adam Grundy

It’s pretty amazing to think of just how much the music scene has changed in a short 20 years time. During the “emo boom” of the early 00’s, it seemed like every major label was falling over themselves in order to sign the next big thing in music and cash in on the interest in the punk/emo scene. There seemed to be a bigger buzz online in several key music website communities that you could sort of feel, or at least get a basic pulse, of when that next band was poised to make a big splash on the music landscape. As much as has been written about the tumultuous relationship Victory Records had with their bands and their contracts, I figured I’d focus the majority of this retrospective on the beauty of the music that Taking Back Sunday has left us with. Tell All Your Friends was one of those electric records that was destined to be huge, immediate, and make the listener feel like they were a part of something that belonged to them. I remember hearing of Taking Back Sunday for the first time in college when a friend of mine had just “discovered” a new band that he described as a mix between hardcore, punk, and anthemic pop that he thought I’d be into. What I wasn’t expecting was for this band to open up a gateway of possibilities of where my music tastes would gravitate towards for the foreseeable future.

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Review: Stress Dolls – Forward

Adam Grundy

The latest offering from the pop rock band called Stress Dolls, the solo moniker of Chelsea O’Donnell, is a solid slab of guitar-driven rock with a steady heartbeat towards self-discovery. The EP, entitled Forward, was co-produced by O’Donnell and Marc Hunt, and features an eclectic mix of heartfelt songs. The record opens with “Alone,” a track about the complexities of relationships and when you just need a moment to breathe from the weight of the world. Chelsea sings, “Whenever I’m alone I get this feeling, it’s happening once again / I’m at half a glass without you, drowning in a whirlpool on the shallow end / But whenever you’re around I am a fever, a hot flush in your face / The vermin in your garden, overgrown yet trying to pick up the pace / So I’d rather be alone,” and her lower vocal delivery offers an interesting take on the pop rock genre. The opener features some well-placed synths in the background and adds to the overall texture of the song.

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Review: Oso Oso – Sore Thumb

Adam Grundy

Just when you think the days of surprise album releases are over, Oso Oso comes through in the clutch to deliver to their fourth studio album called Sore Thumb. This collection of 13 cohesive songs flows brilliantly from start to finish, and features a variety of tempos, feelings, and emotions throughout the record. The band is just coming off of their most successful (both commercially and critically) album to date in 2019’s Basking in the Glow, and had a lot of positive momentum going in their favor leading up to this album cycle. However Jade Lilitri, the only permanent member of the band, experienced a heartbreaking loss around this time last year when his touring guitarist Tavish Maloney passed away tragically at the age of 24. Lilitri does his best to honor his late contributor with one of this year’s best emo records, and one of this year’s best artistic statements to date.

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Review: Proxy – “Don’t Let Me Die In New Jersey”

Adam Grundy

The latest single from punk rockers, Proxy, is a great blast of crunchy guitar-driven punk rock in the same vein as Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals and the heavier elements of New Found Glory. Proxy is the solo moniker of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ryan Stolinski, and he’s onto something pretty cool on “Don’t Let Me Die In New Jersey,” a song taken from his self-titled EP. Stolinski shared this about the new single, “‘Don’t Let Me Die In New Jersey’ is about the longing feeling of wanting to grow past where you have been your entire life. Feeling bored of the old and needing new experiences. I wrote it from the perspective of someone who wants to die somewhere more beautiful and pleasant looking than a place they are no longer bound to. It’s the age old pop punk theme of hating your hometown with a morbid spin.” The next punk rock song to add to your playlist as you skateboard around town has arrived.

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Review: PlainView – Nightlife

Adam Grundy

The latest EP from southeast Michigan’s own PlainView, is a nice emo throwback that revisits the glory days of the punk/emo boom of the early 00’s, with just enough new tricks thrown into the mix to keep things interesting. The band is comprised of Steven Dechausse (vocals), Aaron Rush (guitar/vocals), Andrew Momeyer (bass/vocals), Chris Parker(guitar), and Zach Schroeder (drums) and Nightlife was produced by Mike Martenson (Boys Of Fall). This set of songs that make up the EP features great guitar work, anthemic vocals, pulsating beats, and a little bit of everything you’d come to expect from a band heavily influenced by bands like Bayside, Silverstein, Aiden, and The Used. Guitarist Aaron Rush shared this about the EP, “Nightlife was written through 2020 and 2021 which I think were pretty demanding years for a lot of people. I was surrounded with a lot of stress and uncertainty after a close family member passed unexpectedly. This EP deals with a lot of those feelings but also acknowledges the growth and relationships that come out of dark places.” The band appears poised to take the next dramatic step forward after this great collection of hard-hitting songs.

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Review: Savage Garden – Savage Garden

Chorus.fm Savage Garden
Mary Varvaris

A lot has changed since Savage Garden released their eponymous debut album in 1997. Not that it’s surprising — everything from technology to politics has rapidly transformed in just 25 years, so why shouldn’t music also follow that trend? Pop music today is closer to Savage Garden than pop music of ten years ago, strangely enough. I love seeing The Weeknd, Paramore, and Dua Lipa inspired by the glitz of 80s synth-pop and improving on pop-punk with empowerment and new stories. In a way, I suppose the music that multi-instrumentalist Daniel Jones and vocalist Darren Hayes have released, both from their time as a duo and Hayes’ solo career, hasn’t truly left us.

As a kid growing up in Australia in the late 90s and early 2000s, Savage Garden were inescapable. They were making music when there was more funding for showcasing Australian music. You’d hear “Truly Madly Deeply” on the radio (which I heard on the radio days ago, coincidentally, so that you know how omnipresent the singles are in this country). They performed on weekend television, we played their albums in my house, people still argue about misheard lyrics to “I Want You,” and they sold a shit ton of records. They performed at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Closing Ceremony. Delta Goodrem reworked her classic “Lost Without You” with Hayes. They played to huge audiences in their home city of Brisbane, Australia, a rousing response, to be sure, following mammoth tours around the country. Hell, Hayes even sang by Luciano Pavarotti’s side in a 2000 concert for Cambodia and Tibet. Savage Garden were massive, and rightfully so. 

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Review: Avril Lavigne – Love Sux

Adam Grundy

The first studio album in three years from the “Pop Punk Queen,” Avril Lavigne, delivers on all of its potential. Her seventh album in total, Love Sux was produced by veteran hit-maker John Feldman (among others including Mod Sun and Travis Barker) and has a ton of aggressive and hard-hitting songs that are sure to grab your attention. In a recent interview with NYLON Magazine, Lavigne shared this about the direction of the new record, “This is the first one that’s just rock all the way through. There was a point in music where the label was like, ‘Radio don’t want to hear guitars anymore.’ Live drums went away. Live electric guitars weren’t getting played. There’s always been that fine line that I’m going to make my music that I’m feeling but also you have a company behind you who influences what you’re doing.” This dedication to making the music she was driven to create makes for one of her most accessible and rewarding albums to date.

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Review: Marcy Playground – Marcy Playground

Adam Grundy

I’ve never particularly liked the term “one hit wonder,” since it implies that the band or artist didn’t have any other good material that preceded or followed after a moment of success. Alas, Marcy Playground usually gets lumped into that “one hit wonder” moniker when discussing bands from the late 90’s Alternative Rock scene. The band found breakthrough success with their song “Sex and Candy,” and they steadily released three additional albums, with their last studio album coming in 2009 called Leaving Wonderland…In A Fit of Rage. Marcy Playground recently paired up with other 90’s bands like Everclear and Local H on 2018’s Summerland Tour, and I always felt like they didn’t get the true recognition they deserved for their unique brand of quirky rock. Marcy Playground in particular, their self-titled debut, was one of those records I discovered later in life and was kicking myself for not diving further into the material earlier. There’s never been a better time to dive back into this record that delivers all over the album.

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Review: Methyl Ethel – Are You Haunted?

Methyl Ethel - Are You Haunted?
Mary Varvaris

Methyl Ethel is one of the most exciting artists in Australia right now. Led by multi-instrumentalist and producer Jake Webb, the Perth-based artist gathers numerous artists for his live shows. Webb has built up an impressive reputation: he has gained accolades for his solo work; the third Methyl Ethel album, Triage, released in 2019, was a mostly solitary affair. The band has supported Pond on tour, released Record Store Day exclusives, and steadily climbed the ARIA Charts with each release.

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Review: fun. – Some Nights

fun. - Some Nights
Craig Manning

I can still remember the moment when I realized that fun. were going to be ubiquitously, annoyingly, stratospherically huge. It was February 5, 2012 and I was sitting on a ratty faux-leather sofa in my college apartment, hanging out with my roommates and watching the Giants beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. During one of the commercial breaks, I heard an already familiar (to me) wall of synths and tinkling pianos, and a soon to be inescapable (to everyone) chorus hook that loudly declared: “Tonight/We are young/So let’s set the world on fire/We can burn brighter/Than the sun.”

That 60-second TV spot, an ad for the 2012 Chevy Sonic, effectively launched this trio of pop-rock polyglots into outer space. “We Are Young” already had a little bit of buzz building behind it at that point, having featured prominently in an episode of Glee that aired in December 2011. But it was the Super Bowl placement that, to quote the song, set the world on fire. A week later, “We Are Young” topped the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart. 16 days after the Super Bowl, fun. released Some Nights, their sophomore album, which contained “We Are Young” in the track-three slot. The album sold 70,000 copies in the first week and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts, despite generally mixed critical reviews. By March 17, “We Are Young” was the No. 1 song in the United States – a status it maintained for six weeks.

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