Review: Alkaline Trio – My Shame Is True

Drew Beringer Apr 2, 2013

For some reason, Alkaline Trio falls into this weird “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” area with their legion of fans. Whenever the band experiments with its sound (Crimson, Agony & Irony), fans complain that it doesn’t sound like the band’s previous material. So when the Trio writes an album that’s a throwback of sorts (its last full-lengthThis Addiction), fans whine about it not being as good as From Here To The Infirmary or Goddammit. The band can’t win. Fortunately, this hasn’t ever deterred the band from writing what they deem to be the best Alkaline Trio songs. On its second proper Epitaph full-length, the band headed to the Blasting Room to work with legendary producer Bill Stevenson for (surprisingly) the first time in its career. The result is My Shame Is True, the Trio’s tightest collection of songs since 2003’s Good Mourning.

Thomas Nassiff Mar 31, 2013

Before you read anything past the first sentence of this review, it’s important to know that Transit earned everything I’m about to write about them.

We naturally hold great bands to higher standards. It is, of course, completely normal to expect a good band to write a good record. So when Transit wrote Listen and Forgive, by all accounts a brilliant album, they subjected themselves to this higher standard. They did something great, and with that comes the expectation of continued greatness. It’s because of this band’s boundless potential and proven track record that their new releases are evaluated with the kid gloves taken off. I know how good Transit can be. I’ve heard it. And because of that, I can say Young New England is the most shocking disappointment to come from the wave of pop-punk bands that Transit has grown up with.

Drew Beringer Mar 19, 2013

The idea that one situation can changed dramatically by something as innocent as where the wind blows is a compelling one – something Silverstein explores thoroughly on its latest album, This Is How The Wind Shifts. I feel like Silverstein has been one of the more underappreciated bands out of the early-00’s post-hardcore boom. While many similar acts have either folded or released poor imitations of past work, the Ontario quintet continues to challenge their selves. This Is How The Wind Shifts is proof of that, as it’s the band’s finest effort in its decade-plus career.

Blake Solomon Mar 18, 2013

It’s wrong to say The Story So Far have grown up. Their wonderfully juvenile debut LP was one of those fuck-you-motherfucker releases us nihilistic douchebags turned into cuddle up music. “You’re the worst you terrible idiot,” is me paraphrasing – but also pretty accurate. So then, what now? Well, a couple of years go by and we get something like What You Don’t See. Should singer Parker Cannon still be so pissed he can barely stand? Should the band still run through every single Set Your Goals song as if they’ve had a couple extra sips of (2010-era) FourLoko? Enthusiastically, yes!

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Review: Josh Ritter – The Beast in Its Tracks

Craig Manning Mar 5, 2013

After Josh Ritter’s last couple releases, I was beginning to wonder if his music would ever connect with me again like it had in the old days. His finest albums, 2006’s The Animal Years and 2007’s The Historical Conquests of… were both loaded with terrific melodies, astounding lyrical content, and emulations of musical influences that sit directly in my wheelhouse, from Bruce Springsteen to Bob Dylan to Leonard Cohen. 2010’s slow-burning return, titled So Runs the World Away, largely sought refuge in a sunnier folk-pop vein, a la Paul Simon, but despite a few stellar stand-outs, fell short. And last year’s EP, Bringing in the Darlings, failed to connect with me on any level.

Drew Beringer Jan 22, 2013

Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?
Rob Gordon, High Fidelity

For some reason this quote from the 2000 flick High Fidelity continues to pop into my head anytime I finish listening to Tegan and Sara’s latest album Heartthrob. Now, I’m not saying that this album makes me miserable (quite the opposite really). Rather, the reason I can’t shake that quote is because Heartthrob excels at disguising its darker lyrical content with bright, up-tempo electronica flourishes. And there are a lot of electronic touches throughout Heartthrob, as Tegan and Sara trade in their guitars for keys and synthesizers. This is a full-fledged pop album and that may be shocking to some. But make no mistake: Heartthrob is undoubtedly Tegan and Sara’s best album.

But if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll realize that the duo has been inching closer and closer to this type of sound over the course of the last few Tegan and Sara records (as well as their cameos on dance tracks from EDM artists Tiesto and Morgan Page). The band has been churning out three minute pop delicacies since So Jealous and on Heartthrob, they’ve perfected it. Honestly, I’ve been waiting for this change of pace in the duo’s music and I couldn’t be happier with how Heartthrob turned out. The twin sisters have pushed themselves creatively and musically, creating something truly special. The ten-track LP was co-produced by Greg Kurstin and Mike Elizondo (two producers who’ve worked with the likes of Ke$ha, Lily Allen, Sia, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, and Maroon 5), leading to a pristine and massive sounding record. Songs like “Drove Me Wild” and single “Closer” are perfect examples – both have huge, infectious choruses that are paced by a dizzying array of vibrant keys and buzzing synth. It was a no-brainer for the sisters to work with this production team, launching Tegan and Sara’s songwriting to new heights.

AbsolutePunk Dec 23, 2012

Sometimes, an album takes you by surprise. Sure, you’ve heard tracks by the band previously and you had high enough expectations, hence you picking up the album in the first place, but you didn’t expect to be particularly taken aback by it. You certainly didn’t expect to find yourself casually raving about how *insert somewhat unknown band name here* is the “best band ever!” after only a couple of listens to the record, but hell, that’s how it happens. Modern Baseball are one of these bands. Previously, all I’d heard was a split with Marietta, released early this year, and a handful of demo tracks, and whilst they were promising, Modern Baseball hadn’t quite established themselves as protegees, more ones to watch. So, their first full length, Sports, was a record to look out for rather than a highly anticipated one. However, by Jove, it’s a lot more than that. It appears that Modern Baseball are certainly the best band you’ve never heard of.

Gregory Robson Dec 20, 2012

So this is the Hollywood effect, huh?

A half-decade ago, Boys Like Girls (BLG) were a hard-charging Boston quartet that wrote commercially accessible power-pop with tinges of punk and shared bills with the likes of Spitalfield, Punchline and All Time Low. Heck, one publication even referenced them as 2007’s version of Fall Out Boy. Yet here we are in the latter stages of 2012 and Boys Like Girls sounds distinctly distant from that framework they once laid. To put it succinctly, they sound more like Train than that of Fall Out Boy.

Whether this has anything to do with Johnson’s relocation to California and his time spent with the likes of Miley Cyrus, Victoria Justice and Hot Chelle Rae, to name a few, is anyone’s guess, but one thing is for certain, when it comes to writing pop hooks few are better than him, and Crazy World is set out to prove exactly that. Whereas 2009’s Love Drunk felt like a band trying too hard, Crazy World finds the quartet swimming in their newfound contentment and reveling in their pop gloss. Any way you slice it, there’s no denying frontman Martin Johnson’s talent for pop hooks and Crazy World is chock full.

Jason Tate Dec 14, 2012

It still feels strange to hear new music from Blink-182. I’m not sure what it is … maybe it’s because they’re the band that started me down a path that completely changed my life. Without having heard them, I am really not sure where I would have ended up. Or maybe it’s just because after their ‘hiatus’ I had relegated myself to not really expecting to ever hear new music from them again. So now … when I first hit play on a new Blink-182 song … I get this indescribable feeling that washes over me, almost as though I shouldn’t really be hearing this. Like it’s a dream of a dream. It’s weird.

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Review: Blink-182 – Dogs Eating Dogs

AbsolutePunk Dec 12, 2012

When it comes to Blink-182, there’s not much the three piece hasn’t done. They’ve released a couple classic albums, released even more classic songs, become a staple in modern rock music – and everything in between. Teenagers and adults took the Internet by storm when the band announced that they were reuniting back in 2009 after a four-year hiatus. Two years later came the release of the band’s first album in eight years, Neighborhoods. However, it left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths when it was revealed that the band recorded the majority of the album separately, sending each other tracks via the Internet. While the album followed in the musical direction of the band’s untitled album, it left more to be desired, especially with the uncertainty of when we would hear more material from the band. Then in October the news broke that the band had left their longtime home at Interscope and planned to continue as independent, like many others are in these changing times in the music industry. Shortly after the announcement of the band leaving Interscope, the guys tweeted that new music would be out before the year was over: the Dogs Eating Dogs EP.

Drew Beringer Nov 12, 2012

I was 14 when I bought White Pony, the third album from Sacramento metal legends Deftones. Little did I know that this purchase on a June day would eventually change my life. I didn’t realize music could be so intricate, emotional, and devastating all in one swoop. White Pony consumed me and turned my interest in music from casual encounters to a passionate love affair. Honestly, that album is the reason I have this very job.

So why is my story relevant? It’s because I feel the same emotions I did 12 years ago when listening to Koi No Yokan, the seventh full-length from Deftones.

AbsolutePunk Nov 4, 2012

Bayside has a wealth of early material to boast about, but the band has continued to improve and impress as it has aged. The group’s most recent LP, Killing Time, proved to be one of its strongest records, as Bayside executed with excruciatingly enjoyable precision the formula we’ve grown to love it by. While fans wait patiently for another full batch of Bayside tunes, the New York natives offer up the Covers, Vol. I EP, a collection of five cover songs designed to hold fans over until new music arrives.

The one thing that Bayside does very well on this covers EP – and the EP’s strongest characteristic, in fact – is that the band does a helluva job making these songs sound like Bayside songs. Anthony Raneri’s nasally vocals and Jack O’Shea’s persistent shredding on the guitar are accounted for and produced brilliantly – just because these aren’t original tunes doesn’t mean Bayside took the easy road on this release.

Ryan Gardner Oct 23, 2012

The color red symbolizes a variety of emotions. The color represents courage and bravery yet also embodies passion, sensuality, and love. Still, notably, red marks anger and rage, even danger, warranting caution. In conjunction with all of these various symbols, it makes sense that Red is the title of Taylor Swift’s most ambitious, dynamic record yet.

Riding on the heels of three incredibly successful records, Miss Swift knows she has nothing to lose here. As a result, she doesn’t hold back anything throughout Red’s 16 tracks. Her fourth record flirts with pop sensibilities, redefines her inner-country roots, and delivers tender ballads – it has a little bit of everything. Simply put, she could not care less what anyone wants to hear; she’s bridging the “genre gap” more so than ever before and is not about to back down for a second.

AbsolutePunk Oct 2, 2012

There’s a fine line between imitation and innovation. All Time Low had two options: try to be the next Fall Out Boy or try to be All Time Low. They chose the latter and for that, myself along with many others worldwide are eternally happy with this decision. After the band’s breakthrough album, So Wrong It’s Right, pressure mounted on the four young men from Baltimore, Maryland to be the next big crossover act from the scene. What followed were Nothing Personal and Dirty Work, two albums that saw the band go from simply a pop-punk act to spreading its wings and diversifying its sound. Unfortunately, the attempt to write the next big radio hit was not a successful venture and All Time Low had to return to the drawing board. Although not critically as well-received as its predecessors, it showed the band had chops to transition from the Warped Tour crowd to a potentially bigger atmosphere. It was just the early stages of what sets up Don’t Panic, the band’s fifth full-length album to date.

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Review: Basement – colourmeinkindness

AbsolutePunk Sep 17, 2012

There is a long running joke/discussion among my best friends about how close Mineral’s guitar licks and tone don’t stray far from that of Temple of the Dog. It’s a stretch, but it brings up the point that we often try to dice apart whole genres so much, and I often wonder why. Is it because there is a distinct sound to the music at hand? Or is it really to separate something you love from something you hate, but secretly love due to popular opinion? Is everything that’s played on the radio awful? No. Given better timing and marketing, some of underground’s most notable acts could have been bigger than they turned out to be.

Review: Alkaline Trio – My Shame Is True

Review: Transit – Young New England

Review: Silverstein – This Is How The Wind Shifts

Review: The Story So Far – What You Don’t See

Review: Josh Ritter – The Beast in Its Tracks

Review: Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob

Review: Modern Baseball – Sports

Review: Boys Like Girls – Crazy World

Review: Blink-182 – Dogs Eating Dogs EP

Review: Blink-182 – Dogs Eating Dogs

Review: Deftones – Koi No Yokan

Review: Bayside – Covers, Vol. I

Review: Taylor Swift – Red

Review: All Time Low – Don’t Panic

Review: Basement – colourmeinkindness