Knocked Loose have released a video for “Don’t Reach for Me.”
Read More “Knocked Loose – “Don’t Reach for Me” Video”Knocked Loose – “Don’t Reach for Me” Video
Review: Microwave – Much Love
As I stare down my mid-twenties, I see the rest of my life hurtling toward me at full speed like a freight train with the brake lines cut. I feel my experience is nothing short of ubiquitous among those of my age group. Each of us may be staring down different issues: a full-time job that is perhaps not an actual career, mounting student loan debt, relationship troubles, and more. That uncertainty seems to linger there, just under the surface, at all hours of the day. These are the mounting insecurities and anxieties and, let’s face it, sometimes depression, that come with a perceived lack of direction in life.
We are all searching for someone who is trying to find that same meaning. It’s no surprise then, that the music we love often reflects back these same uncertainties, the same occasional short-lived self-loathing, and the probing existentialism of everyday life. And no record this year has struck that particular nerve for me in quite the way that Microwave’s Much Love has.
Record Store Day Countdown: Dead By Sunrise – Out Of Ashes
The countdown to Record Store Day continues today with a look at Dead By Sunrise and their only LP, Out of Ashes, that will be released on “black ice” vinyl for the first time in North America. For those unfamiliar with the band, they were fronted by Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington and included Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh from Orgy. This album was officially released on September 30th, 2009 and was produced by veteran hit-maker Howard Benson. This “RSD First” release is limited to just 7,500 copies and comes courtesy of Warner Records.
Read More “Record Store Day Countdown: Dead By Sunrise – Out Of Ashes”Interview: Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons
Lead singer Dan Reynolds talks about assembling Imagine Dragons’ first full-length Night Visions, how much Imagine Dragons has progressed in its short life span so far, and finding inspiration in dreams and personal demons.
Interview: Missy Dabice of Mannequin Pussy
Like many artists this past year, 2020 was a challenging one for Mannequin Pussy. Just a few months removed from releasing Patience – their first record for Epitaph Records – the world was shut down by COVID-19. After discovering that creating new music in a socially distant type of way wasn’t working, the Philadelphia-based trio booked time at Will Yip’s Studio 4 to spark some creativity. What emerged was the Perfect EP – a five-track collection that showcases the best of Mannequin Pussy’s sound while also displaying a tenderness within. From the booming passion of “Control” and “To Lose You” to the abrasive thrash of the title track and “Pigs is Pigs,” Mannequin Pussy continues to evolve their style in incredibly special and diverse ways. Below, guitarist/vocalist Missy Dabice and I discuss being creative during a global pandemic, working with Yip, and “Drunk II” (of course).
Read More “Missy Dabice of Mannequin Pussy”Midtown at Garden Grove Amphitheater
I had the opportunity to take some photos from the Midtown reunion shows at the Garden Grove Amphitheater in California on October 14th. You can find those below.
Read More “Midtown at Garden Grove Amphitheater”Cobra Starship Flies Into Drama
Below are lengthy conflicting statements from Gabe Saporta and keytar player Elisa Schwartz about Elisa’s departure from Cobra Starship.
Read More “Cobra Starship Flies Into Drama”Liner Notes (March 24th, 2024)
This week, we try to catch up on two weeks of music and add a whole bunch of first impressions (Sum 41, The Early November, Strung Out, and more). The supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (March 24th, 2024)”Review: The Dangerous Summer – Reach for the Sun
It’s funny the way that albums can mark time. How hearing the right songs at the right moment can make them sound like more than songs, or how going back to those songs after 10 or 15 or 20 years can reawaken every feeling you had when you first heard them. It’s funny, too, how the music that does those things to you might not do anything for anyone else. How something can be an incredibly meaningful and important document of your past, but just sound run-of-the-mill to someone else. Or how, if you’d heard an album a decade or a year or six months too early or too late, it might just be a footnote in your musical history rather than a symphony.
No album has ever taken me more by surprise than The Dangerous Summer ‘s Reach for the Sun. I didn’t see it coming, and I wasn’t looking for it. I had no knowledge of the band or their past work, no clue what they sounded like or what their songs might have to say about my life. I just read a rave review of the album one day on AbsolutePunk and decided to give it a shot. Ten years later, those songs still shoot shivers down my spine and choke me up, because they sound like the cusp of adulthood, and like all the friends and memories I’ve left behind in the past decade.
Reach for the Sun had remarkable timing. Its release date was May 5, 2009, just as spring was bursting into full, glorious bloom. I first heard it on May 3, in the early evening, coming out of old boombox speakers in my bedroom, with the gentle glow of the sunset streaming through my window. The day before, my sister had graduated from college. In another month, I’d graduate from high school. My parents and I had driven home, from Ann Arbor to Traverse City, that afternoon. I had a boatload of calculus homework to do and was dreading the evening. AP exams were just days away, and I needed to buckle down and focus. Certainly, I knew I needed a good soundtrack for the study session. So I downloaded this record on the recommendation of a glowing 95 percent review from Blake Solomon and loaded it onto my iPod.
American Hi-Fi’s Debut Coming to Vinyl
American Hi-Fi’s debut album is getting pressed to vinyl for the first time.
Read More “American Hi-Fi’s Debut Coming to Vinyl”Yellowcard Heading to Europe
Yellowcard have announced a Europe/UK tour.
Read More “Yellowcard Heading to Europe”Interview: Scott Raynor (formerly) of Blink-182
First, thank you for doing this with me.
Hey what’s up? Glad to be here.
Awesome. So you got time to answer a few questions?
Sure thing dude.
Read More “Scott Raynor (formerly) of Blink-182”Things to Do in Portland, OR
I’ve lived in Portland, Oregon for most of my life. There was a brief foray during the college years to do the pop-punk thing and get out of the town I grew up in, but I always end up finding my way back. There’s just something about the city, the people, the way of life, that fits so well with my personality. It’s home. With the popularity of Portlandia I’ve gotten more questions about the city than any other time in my life. Everyone wants to know how accurate the show is (some of it is pretty damn dead on), and quite a few others ask about things to do if they ever visit. I’ve got a few recommendations for if you ever visit the city, but take it as a very incomplete list, there’s always new things showing up and there are plenty of things I don’t cover here. This is also mostly confined to the Portland area and doesn’t expand out to the fantastic hiking, wildlife, and nature that so much of Oregon is known for — I always highly recommend finding a good hiking trail when you visit, it’s beautiful.
Bowling for Soup Part Ways With Bassist
Bowling for Soup have parted ways with their bassist, Erik Chandler.
Erik has recently come to the decision, for personal reasons, that touring and being in a band full time has become too much for him. Together, Erik and the band have decided to part ways. This split is on good terms. We will always be Erik’s biggest fan and brother, and support him in his decisions and future endeavors. We also hope that our fans will support him and respect his decision and privacy in all of this as he enters the next chapter in his personal and professional life.
Garrett Lemons’ Top Albums of 2023
Man, what a year. It was dominated by Taylor Swift and I wrote one of my favorite pieces about attending two stops of The Eras Tour. I attended Furnace Fest for the third year in a row, but didn’t write about it this time. It’s been a tough year with a lot of loss. But music has really helped me through. It’s been the year of the EP, with some absolute juggernauts represented below including as my AOTY. Gonna share some of my favorite songs of the year interspersed with their albums. Definitely check them out if you haven’t. Happy New Year!
Read More “Garrett Lemons’ Top Albums of 2023”