Ok, so an unapologetic love song can go several ways once you hit play, not all of them especially pleasant. We all have our own definition of what those not-so-great qualities might be but I tend to steer away from the really sappy side of things. I had reviewed the prior release from this band (“Stick Up”) back in June and liked it a lot. This new single is definitely in a different vein but does not go off the rails for me. Instead it is a positive & breezy track with some cool guitar moments and a catchy hook. Hopefully they are playing this at some of their shows as I bet it makes for a good gig moment.
Note that this track is the third one released from what I understand was a five song session with producer George Perks (You Me at Six, Enter Shikari). I will be interested to hear what comes out next!
Check it out on your favorite streaming channel (link below) – and let me know your thoughts about it – music makes for good conversation 🙂
I definitely do not need a second reminder to review any new music from Pulley as songs like “Cashed in” (from Esteem Driven Engine) and “Empty” (Together Again for the First Time) have been part of the mixtape of my life. And…speaking of tapes, here is another one of my requests for you: There was a promo cassette that had three songs from Esteem Driven Engine on it that was out sometime in the late 90’s. If you ever see one…give me a shout please. Pulley is a great band live also although it has been awhile since I saw them. I know less about Fire Sale but the associated bands of the musicians (The Ataris, 22 Jacks, No Use for a Name and Ann Beretta among others) are some favorites of mine. I had previously head their song “A Fool’s Errand” and found it pretty groovy.
The Pulley songs on this new 7” split (“Write a Note If You Leave” and “Torn Apart by Time”) are right in that melodic punk space. These tracks have tight instrumentation and a refined composition accompanied by some straight-forward and heartfelt lyrics. There is much to enjoy between the hammering drum line, booming bass and some screaming guitar moments. I would pick “Torn Apart by Time” as my personal favorite on this album.
There is a bit of a different tone and feel to the Fire Side songs “An Archaic Construct” and “Call of the Void.” These are a little more raw and edgy, backed up by a wall of distortion and buzzy energy. That distortion drowns out a little bit of the other instrument sounds in a couple places but it all works out really well overall. You can catch some nice guitar moments on these songs also.
The four tracks on this release fit well together and represent both bands creative approach and high energy. You can listen to these on repeat for awhile! This music is coming out on Negative Progression Records on September 5th and you can get a limited edition vinyl right here:
Well, cool things sometimes happen and as you may recall I had just reviewed Sleep Pod Two’s “All That We Have (Is Each Other)” earlier this month…and then along comes another band with Wal Rashidi on the drums. Although I was aware of some of the other associated bands from this group of musicians I had not heard about For Closure much prior to this release.
The guitar tone at the start of this is very cool and a bit of a throwback for me to somewhere in the 80’s – it is a groovy riff that sets the mood right away. As the volume and sound build from there it takes you along on a wave of melody and soaring vocals that give a broken love story a slightly defiant vibe. Short and to the point, the track drops right off the edge at the 2:13 mark. This is a good song in the power-pop tradition and a nice listen for a Sunday afternoon.
Musicians on this are: Luis Estefania (guitar), Gizz Lazlo (vocals), Steve Brown (bass), Marc Maxey (guitar) and of course Wal Rashidi (drums).
The full EP (also titled Take Two) is set to drop September 12th on Mindpower Records. It is going to include a cover of “In My Head” by the Doughboys which I will be interested to hear.
Check it out on your favorite streaming channel (link below) – and let me know your thoughts about it – music makes for good conversation 🙂
I caught the sound of this band a bit late after stumbling across their version of “Tear My Stillhouse Down” (which is an early release off their upcoming Cover to Cover V1 album and also features Lindsay Lou). That was enough to get me looking into their other music which lead to giving City of Glass a listen and I was impressed. These five musicians have good, fresh energy in their music that fits into the Americana genre but with some definite country and folk vibes along for the ride. Listening through other selections from their catalog I found that their covers of other artists songs pay tribute to them while also adding something new. It makes for a nice listening experience.
I was tempted to select the eponymous title track from City of Glass for this review but eventually decided on “Bedside Window” as I was pretty familiar with that track from the California Honeydrops. That original version that I heard on Like You Mean It has a starkness to it that gives it a real empty, sorrowful tone; a simple, subdued guitar plays lightly in the background to accompany Lech Wierzynski’s lonely-hearted vocals. If you have heard versions of this song played live by the Honeydrops it does have a more full musical background but that one off the album was always my favorite.
So, what do you get from this version by AJ Lee & Blue Summit? There is more instrumentation here that adds some volume and depth while still maintaining a pretty sorrowful tone. I think it is just a little bit bouncier than the Honeydrops version and it works well. The muted mandolin and fiddle are prominent as is a slow, powerful bass line. Some of the stark quality I liked on that original Like You Mean It version is missing but this track is lonesome enough to deliver the message.
Musicians on this are: Scott Gates (guitar, vocals), AJ Lee (vocals, mandolin), Jan Purat (fiddle), Sullivan Tuttle (guitar, vocals) and there is a bass player but I had a hard time chasing down the name for certain…so my apologies to that musician and I will happily update this post if I get good info on it.
When I read the Earshot Media press release about this one I was not familiar with the group or most of the musician’s associated acts. I had heard of Gameface but even there it was in a limited way (a song called “Daylight Savings” that had been put on a mix tape for me back in the 90’s that was mostly full of Buffalo Tom songs). I went back and gave that track a listen and it was pretty cool. I also had to give some props to my old bud who made that mix tape…Gameface definitely fit the groove for that collection. I did go back and pick up that entire digital album (Three To Get Ready) that had “Daylight Savings” on it. If you have a couple spare moments you can check it here:
Back to this Sleep Pod Two release “All That We Have (Is Each Other)” which is a solid single all on its own. Nice loud guitars right away, this one is fast paced and energetic with a slowdown about midway through that provides just enough space in an otherwise “wall to wall” flurry of sound. The song goes out in a frenzy of guitar and drums that will leave you looking for more.
Musicians on this are: Guy Julian (bass, vocals), Chris Whyte (vocals, guitar), Todd Trout (guitars), Wal Rashidi (drums)
Check it out on your favorite streaming channel (link below) – and let me know your thoughts about it – music makes for good conversation 🙂
And if you have the inclination …think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand. You can check out the pre-order for the EP (via Mindpower Records) here:
There was a band from way back in the day (mid 00’s in this case) called The Twilight Transmission that was pretty good. They fit somewhere in the alt-punk space with a bit of hard core mixed in. It was only one album that I ever heard back then (and checking Discogs and others sources it still is the only one I find listed) but they did not have a “one-off sound.” The members of that band (Colin Buis, Brendan Murphy, Jae Hansel, Brian Balchack and Brian Manry) played well and wrote songs with interesting arrangements. If you get a chance check out their Bandcamp page here and give The Dance of Destruction a listen – well worth it.
Interest in that band led me to Outspoken, Hansel’s former endeavor that released music mostly in the 1990’s and I became a late-comer fan of that band also. And then I promptly lost track of him until Empired released Finding Calm in the Chaos back in 2024. So, now that we are all up to date…
It was great to be able to get a chance to listen to this track and it is indeed a good one! There is much good melodic punk energy and strong vocals running throughout with screaming guitars, a bit of a groovy bass, and a steady, clean drum sound. I also found the keyboard action intriguing as it punched through the guitar sound at various times to add a nice layer to the overall composition of this track.
Empired has a new album coming out (Strikes Back!) and you can pre-order today from Hey!Fever Records right here:
Well, sometimes you get a press release about a band and suddenly realize you managed to forget about a pretty darn good band somewhere along the way. This particular moment was inspired by an email from Earshot Media with news about this single being dropped a few weeks ago. The band name caught me as familiar so I dug into the collection and found a digital song called “Second City” and pressed play. A boisterous and well-played Irish punk song was the result, good enough that I figured it could not possibly be the only track from Hoist the Colors that I had laying around…but in the end, it was all by its lonesome self. After checking into it they have a few others out there that are worth your time including Miles To Go Before We Sleep, Mourners and When Daylight Breaks.
You can tell right from the start of “Documentation” that this group of musicians has grown and expanded their influences since the sound of “Second City.” A pretty cool guitar riff starts this one off with a melodic bass line joining, slowly building up a little tension before a lively mandolin kicks in. The fiddle provides just enough bluegrass flavor to set the mood and the vocals are strong (and tell a pretty human and relatable story). The blending of genres here is sophisticated and very successful.
You can catch the video for this here:
Also, their album will drop in October and can be pre-ordered from Hey!Fever Records starting August 30th!
And if you have the inclination …think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand.
Right off the top…you need to check this band out in concert the next time they cross your path. I just saw them as the front end for Social Distortion and they are electrifying. There is enough boisterous energy wrapped up in Luke Perine, Brandon Blaine, Jay Rodgers and Michael Perez to last you the entire night. It is a band you will not forget.
Although the releases for Plague Vendor stretch back to 2014’s “Black Sap Scriptures” (still one of their best songs in my opinion) and Free to Eat I first heard “I Only Speak in Friction” sometime in 2019. This track (which also features producer Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion) has this great opening guitar riff and a driving power that runs the entire 3 minutes of the song. From there I was hooked and have found their music to be a great way to hype up my energy.
“Run” has some buzzy bass guitar to start and a shuffling drum beat that kind of floats you into the low-key vocals. This song seems a little sleepy at first listen but there is a cathartic energy that lies underneath, kind of a subdued pulse that collects force as it rolls along. A good listen that can fit into a quiet day of reflection or the start of a night out on the town.
You may or may not recall the stellar debut from this band. It is called Runaway and made quite an impression on me when it was released back in 2023. Throughout the album there was just a little bit of grittiness and unpolished edge showing through that made it even better…in my opinion anyway. That touch of roughness happens on a lot of opening releases of course but it is not always a good thing and it does not always add positive energy to the songs…but it worked really well on Runaway. A good example to check out there is “Take a Number.”
On this new single release that original edge is gone but hey, that happens also and is not a drawback here. The band is in fine form on this song and have evolved their sound away from mainline pop punk toward a more rock vibe. Opening on a blistering and heavy rhythm section that quickly drops off for some vocals from Tess Stevens, the track climbs to some anthemic heights. The lyrics are pointed and relevant to our modern day online craziness. As Stevens remarked in the Earshot Media press release for this single: “The song is about rejecting the stupidity we see online, unplugging ourselves from the things that cause us self doubt. It’s about telling the world to ‘take you alive’ as you truly are.” On the way out at the end you can hear some nice guitar work before Tess bids us all ‘bye.
Video to check out here:
If you go out and give “Take Me Alive” a listen…think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand.
That local community that surrounds you is awesome – remember to support them!
Well, when you review a remix of a song (this one is off her 2024 album Me) you have to say which one you like better…right? So you have that to look forward to later anyway 🙂
It is no secret that I (and plenty of other people judging from the recognition and awards she has received) know that Knipp is a fantastic musician and one of the rising but still under-appreciated musicians in the blues music scene today. Just as a personal observation, I receive a lot of comm from musicians and hers always comes across as very sincere, heartfelt and “on the cuff’ – meaning that she comes across as real and authentic.
When Me was released I was impressed with the depth and layers of the songs on that record and my favorite track was Outlaw Doc which is reviewed here:
“Go” was a strong track also off that album with an interesting spoken word opening over piano and some very pointed lyrics. It has a nice, slow bluesy groove running through it and comes across as a pensive reflection on complicated relationships. This electro-funk remix keeps a soft opening with a slow drum-driven and punchy bass tempo with Knipp’s vocals riding right along the top of the rhythm. The guitar solo around the 3:00 mark and gospel-style chorus that follows are great moments that fill out this song and really make it noteworthy. This version seems more personal than the one on Me…and yes, I like it more than the original.
jack mesenbourg 