Hub City Stompers‘ vocalist Reverend T. Sinister has written up a brief reflection on his introduction to ska, punk, and underground music in general, and how he got into the NJ/NY scene. Check out the full write-up below! [Read more…]

Danish punks Forever Unclean have released a video for “Waves”. The track is from the band’s new EP “Float”, which came out last March 24th Disconnect Disconnect Records. Orders for the four track, orange vinyl release are up now.

You can watch the video below. [Read more…]

I love finding new music. To this day, as a show-going, vinyl-spinning, vest-wearing punk— nothing beats finding a young band with chops to spare. Goodbye Blue Monday is the latest to enter my rotation, based on the recommendation of other internet punks, and I think I have to jump on the bandwagon. If anything, I’m downplaying it. Their EP, The Sickness, The Shame is fantastic. Three perfect pop punk bangers from a Scottish four-piece, sang with a mouth that might as well an open wound. The worst I can say is I wish there was more.

I think the key appeal of The Sickness, The Shame, at least for me, is its confessional nature. We’ve seen it before in bands like Against Me! and Off With Their Heads, where vulnerable lyrics reach a level of intimacy they force you into a recoil. Goodbye Blue Monday is in the same game, with similarly personal lyrics focusing in on frontman Graham Lough’s bipolar disorder. The concept isn’t approached as much as it is attacked, it becomes a pinata that needs to be smashed, or an effigy that needs to burned– by the time the three songs finish, it becomes a picnic savaged by wild animals. But, that’s punk for you. There’s an aggression here, a plaintive, angry cry shouting down mental illness, and it’s a thrill to join.

The songs themselves are excellent, and there being only three, a dud would stand out a lot more. The EP opens with “Fungus,” a hearty pop punk number whose first lyrics state, “If you stare at a blank wall long enough/ You’ll start to see patterns where there are none. Little flecks of paint or smears or dry rot/ Little stains of what you’ve become.” It’s extremely catchy, like all the songs on The Sickness, The Shame, showing that at the core of this misery-punk outfit, there are some real songwriting chops as well.  “Take Your Pills” would probably be the single of the bunch, propelled by its opening guitar riff and declarative, shout-along title. “Choke ‘em all down, choke ‘em all down!” is the sort of lyric you can imagine on the lips of a couple hundred kids, crammed to capacity in a basement.

The EP ends with the title track. “The Sickness, The Shame” is a summation of the album’s concept, a grand rendering of life with bipolar disorder. It’s also just damn catchy, an ear worm that burrows into your brain with imagery from another life. One of the things I love most about this album, but also the title track in particular, is that these songs feel written. There are a lot of words here, and they explore their topics exceedingly well. The final product feels shaped by the words as their foundation, rather than just existing as a delivery system for a vocal melody.

The Sickness, The Shame is a triumph of songwriting as well as introspection. These are the types of bands that catch your ear and hold it tight, there’s a perspective here, something unique that can continue to grow and captivate. Goodbye Blue Monday is a band on the verge of joining the conversation, all they need now is more songs.

5/5

Israeli punk rock gem Petey’s Dead has released a brand new video. The visuals are set to the track ‘Cheap’ of the band’s amazing debut album ‘Horses’, which came out in April last year. We can’t wait to hear more from these guys!

Head down below to check out the video for ‘Cheap’. [Read more…]

Punk troubadours Mike Frazier and Tom Lofgren have teamed up to bring you a new political charged track ‘So Called President’. Both artists decided to make this song “pay what you want” to help raise money and awareness for DACA ( Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). They’ll also be donating a percentage of the proceeds to the National Immigration Law Center.

Check out ‘So Called President’ below and maybe donate a couple of buckets for the good cause. [Read more…]

Austrian ramones-core kings DeeCracks new full length ‘Sonic Delusions’ has been out for a couple of days now, but in case you missed it (or feel inclined to give it another spin), we’ve got you covered.

Stream ‘Sonic Delusions’ in full below and if you like what you hear pick up your very own copy right here. [Read more…]

While those of us that make up your friendly neighborhood Dying Scene photography staff enjoy shooting punk rock shows of all shapes and sizes, there’s just something special about a bill at a small, cash-only club that’s stacked with kick ass local bands. Such was the case the weekend before last when one of our favorites, Bundles, celebrated the release of their debut full-length, Deaf Dogs. The album was released by Gunner Records earlier this month, just in time for the trio’s recent tour of Europe, and they threw themselves a barn-burner of a homecoming shindig at O’Brien’s in Boston’s legendary Allston neighborhood.

Kicking things off was Michael Kane & The Morning Afters. The foursome are based in Worcester, MA, which is roughly an hour from the city, but have long been staples of the local music scene in various capacities. When we last caught up with the foursome, they were on the big stage kicking off the third and final night of Street Dogs‘ annual Wreck The Halls festivities. While they might have axed the Bruce Springsteen cover from their set on this particular night, their unique blend of punk-infused rock-and-roll (think The Replacements) set the bar pretty high for what was to follow for the remainder of the evening. The infectious “Old Men Die In New Suits” from their 2017 Laughing At The Shape I’m In remains one of the catchier singalongs in the recent chapters of the local punk scene.

Birdwatching were up next, and are rather quickly becoming one of the most must-see bands in or around Boston. The threesome play a high-energy indie rock style that’s equal parts earnest and vulnerable. They dub themselves “nervous underdog pop,” and that seems to be pretty accurate, although perhaps not quite as accurate as how my ten-year-old sums up the sound of Birdwatching’s latest EP, Night Physics – “these guys are really good. They’re interesting, because they’re loud, but they’re not like RAH-RAH-RAH-RAH loud like a lot of other rock bands.”

Dan Webb and the Spiders were up third, and if you’ve been paying attention, you’re no doubt aware that the foursome have long been one of our favorite local acts. DWatS and Bundles put out a split 12-inch on Gunner Records a couple years ago and shared a bill at that album’s record release show at this very same venue, and so it made perfect sense to have the two team up on this night as well given how complimentary the bands sounds are. IT can be a bit tough to encapsulate the Spiders’ garage rock-based sound, as they can pull off gritty aggression and almost Beatlesian melodies interchangeably. I keep saying they’re one of the most underappreciated bands in the area, and I’m nowhere near alone in that mindset.

Which, of course, brings us to the guests of honor, the trio known as Bundles. Much like Michael Kane & the Morning Afters, we last caught Bundles on the big stage across town at Sinclair where they were kicking off the recent Hot Water Music show. Don’t get us wrong; we love watching local buds get cool opportunities like that, especially when their set goes over well, and we’ll always continue to root for more and more of those experiences. But seeing bands like Bundles damn near melt on stage at venues like Obie’s will forever be one of the more comforting things in a local scene that, like so many others, is becoming increasingly gentrified. We’ve seen Bundles and their finely-tuned quads a bunch over the years, and this is probably the most involved and vocal we’ve seen a crowd at a Bundles show, with nearly non-stop vocal involvement from audience members from start to finish, in spite of how very recently released the stellar Deaf Dogs was. Yet another notch on the bedpost in support of Boston being one of the best places for local independent music.

Head below to check out our full photo gallery, and pick up Deaf Dogs here.

[Read more…]

Grand Collapse have released a music video for the song “Along The Dew”. The animated video plays out the lyrics of the anti-hunt song and it is brilliant. The song is the the title track from their album released last year which I highly recommend buying if you havent yet as it was one of the best releases of 2017 in my opinion. It is an absolute belter and you can listen to it here.

You can watch the video below and enjoy seeing the hunter become the hunted…

[Read more…]

Detroit punk act Reuther have released a music video for their song “Last Call.”

You can check it out below.

“Last Call” comes from the bands’ upcoming debut album, Like A Ghost, which is set to be released on April 27th via Get Party Records and Too Hype Music.

[Read more…]

Brazilian ska punks Abraskadabra are streaming their new album Welcome in its entirety.

You can give it a listen below.

Welcome was released on February 20th.

[Read more…]