New York hardcore band Backtrack are currently streaming their upcoming album Bad To My World in full. You can listen to it below. Bad To My World is set to be released on November 17 via Bridge Nine Records.
New York hardcore band Backtrack are currently streaming their upcoming album Bad To My World in full. You can listen to it below.
Bad To My World is set to be released on November 17 via Bridge Nine Records.
British metalcore act Bring Me the Horizon have announced they will be releasing a compilation record gathering the best tracks of the band’s first five releases. You can find the tracklist below. Bring Me the Horizon 2004-2013 is set to be released on November 24th via Epitaph Records, with a vinyl release planned for February 9th, […]
British metalcore act Bring Me the Horizon have announced they will be releasing a compilation record gathering the best tracks of the band’s first five releases. You can find the tracklist below.
Bring Me the Horizon 2004-2013 is set to be released on November 24th via Epitaph Records, with a vinyl release planned for February 9th, 2018. The five releases, spanning their history with Epitaph, are 2004 EP This Is What The Edge Of Your Seat Was Made For, 2006 debut album Count Your Blessings, 2008’s Suicide Season, 2010’s There Is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let’s Keep It a Secret, and finally 2013’s Sempiternal.
Baltimore post-hardcore band Pianos Become The Teeth have released a music video for their new song “Charisma,” which you can watch below. “Charisma” is taken from the band’s upcoming album release titled Wait For Love. The album is set to drop on February 16th, 2018. You can find the tracklist below the video and find pre-orders here.
Baltimore post-hardcore band Pianos Become The Teeth have released a music video for their new song “Charisma,” which you can watch below.
“Charisma” is taken from the band’s upcoming album release titled Wait For Love. The album is set to drop on February 16th, 2018. You can find the tracklist below the video and find pre-orders here.
Kanazawa, Japan based blend of melodic punk and emo, UP TO YOU, are streaming a new demo, titled Demo 2017. You can listen below. The new two track demo was released on November 13, and follows their latest EP release Under Your Feet which was released on December 25, 2016. You can stream the EP here.
Kanazawa, Japan based blend of melodic punk and emo, UP TO YOU, are streaming a new demo, titled Demo 2017. You can listen below.
The new two track demo was released on November 13, and follows their latest EP release Under Your Feet which was released on December 25, 2016. You can stream the EP here.
Splits are an underrated release. Too often they get lumped in as inessential marketing tools, rather than legitimate installments in two band’s sagas. They’re overshadowed by full-lengths, but make no mistake, a good split has the potential to go down as a classic. Think of the iconic Faith/Void release from Dischord, or all of those […]
Splits are an underrated release. Too often they get lumped in as inessential marketing tools, rather than legitimate installments in two band’s sagas. They’re overshadowed by full-lengths, but make no mistake, a good split has the potential to go down as a classic. Think of the iconic Faith/Void release from Dischord, or all of those amazing BYO Records releases (especially the Leatherface/ Hot Water Music one)– there’s a rich history in regards to the punk rock split and it offers a unique experience. This is the place where bands can try new things and experiment, and maybe that’s just because of the nature of the split, but the truth is: sometimes it’s easiest to be weird when you think no one’s looking.
Human Movement is split between pop punk darlings Direct Hit! and nouveau-skate animals Pears. Their common language is hardcore and choruses– the former that encroaches on Direct Hit!’s sugary concept albums, and the latter that punctuates Zach Quinn’s machine-gun bursts of syllables. Together, they bring together both and play off each others strengths, making Human Movement one of those rare splits that can follow the conversation between Green Star and Brainless God.
Direct Hit! opens Human Movement with the hardcore banger “You Got What You Asked For.” While Direct Hit! has always been adept at the genre, usually throwing one or two screamers in per album, here they deliver on the intensity– with quick stabs of guitar, high tempo drums, and pissed-to-hell vocals. Immediately proceeding, in a moment of minor perfection, they switch gears into the opening of the next song, “Blood on Your Tongue,” with sugary sweet bell synth and pop punk melodies. It’s one of those tangible moments on the Direct Hit! side of Human Movement where you can see the fun the bands are having, and as the record spins, it becomes infectious– from the big melodies of “Open Your Mind,” the new classic “Shifting the Blame,” and their cover of Pears’ “You’re Boring.”
The latter deserves special attention, as one of the best parts of any split is hearing the bands cover each other songs. Direct Hit! attacks “You’re Boring” with so much gusto, you’d swear they were trying to claim it for their own. It stays pretty close to the original, with the biggest difference being some extra pop punk zeal on the chorus. To close out their side of the split, Direct Hit! strike straight hardcore again with “Nothing,” a fast shout-along track with an intense and dreamy bridge.
Pears open their half with “Hey There, Begonia.” It’s on the catchier side of their core sound, with the same fast moving riffs you’d expect and an interpolation of System of a Down’s “Chop Suey.” Again, Human Movement is about bands having fun, and they work it into the bones of their music.
“Mollusk’s Mouth” is a faster song with a lighting fast harmonized lyric section that caught my ear. It alludes to one of the best things about Pears– their creativity and ambition in punk rock is so often realized through the collective talent of their members. These guys can play, they can sing, and they can write songs like no other. Riffs fly, vocal rhythms change from hardcore spitting to soaring melodies, but it never leaves the realm of adult playtime. In “Misery Conquers the World” they incorporate “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” with a chorus of children booing. Pears is the sound of goofing off.
Pears cover Direct Hit!’s “The World Is Ending” off Brainless God— well, kinda. What they do is actually a lot cooler. They meld in “Buried Alive,” the other hit from Brainless God as well as Masked Intruder’s “Heart-Shaped Guitar.” It’s surprising, weird, and hilarious, and shows Pears in all their glory– showing off and having a little fun. “Never Now” opens with some heavy-ass dissonance before transforming into the sort of thing the band is primarily known for: fast flying lyrics and a singalong chorus. It differentiates itself with the chugging breakdown, showing Pears once again swallowing up more genre influences like a fat and hungry punk rock anaconda.
Human Movement is the sort of the split you want to see released. How often do you get two high profile bands doing this sort of thing anymore? Not very often. Both Pears and Direct Hit! represent the finest of a certain kind of modern punk, established acts who continue to take risks and try and make their music as interesting as possible, all while playing in the chords and melody sandbox. Human Movement is a testament to catchy-punk devotees, a monument to all the wonderful things you can do with rhythm, melody, and words. But, it is also fun, plain and simple. Pears and Direct Hit! play well together, but when they compete, they both win.
4.5/5
New Jersey indie-punk act Save Face are streaming their upcoming EP, Folly: On The Rocks, in its entirety. You can give it a listen here. Folly: On The Rocks sees the band playing stripped down acoustic and piano versions of the songs from their 2016 EP Folly. The new EP is set to be released on November 17th, 2017 via Take This to […]
New Jersey indie-punk act Save Face are streaming their upcoming EP, Folly: On The Rocks, in its entirety. You can give it a listen here.
Folly: On The Rocks sees the band playing stripped down acoustic and piano versions of the songs from their 2016 EP Folly. The new EP is set to be released on November 17th, 2017 via Take This to Heart Records.
Edinburgh Scotland Melodic Punk act Bike Notes, which features members of The Murderburgers and The Walking Targets, are streaming their new song, “May 9th.” You can give it a listen below. “May 9th” comes from the bands upcoming debut EP, Sun Dances, which is set to be released later this month on Struck Dum Records.
Edinburgh Scotland Melodic Punk act Bike Notes, which features members of The Murderburgers and The Walking Targets, are streaming their new song, “May 9th.”
You can give it a listen below.
“May 9th” comes from the bands upcoming debut EP, Sun Dances, which is set to be released later this month on Struck Dum Records. [Read more…]
Houston’s Days N Daze recently performed their songs “Wholesome Failure” and “Day Gaunts” for Bridge City Sessions. You can check out that video below. Days N Daze last released Crustfall on March 23rd, 2017.
Houston’s Days N Daze recently performed their songs “Wholesome Failure” and “Day Gaunts” for Bridge City Sessions.
You can check out that video below.
Days N Daze last released Crustfall on March 23rd, 2017.
Sparta, Jim Ward’s post At The Drive In project, is back again and have released a new song called “Graveyard Luck.” You can give it a listen below. No word yet on whether this new song is the first from a new EP or LP, but we will of course keep you updated as we hear […]
Sparta, Jim Ward’s post At The Drive In project, is back again and have released a new song called “Graveyard Luck.”
You can give it a listen below.
No word yet on whether this new song is the first from a new EP or LP, but we will of course keep you updated as we hear more. [Read more…]
Portland pop-punks Mean Jeans have announced some January tour dates with Dirty Fences. You can check out all the dates and locations below. The band last released a tribute to Mountain Dew, called “Mountain Dew (I Need It).” Their last full length album was Tight New Dimension, released April 2016 through Fat Wreck Chords.
Portland pop-punks Mean Jeans have announced some January tour dates with Dirty Fences.
You can check out all the dates and locations below.
The band last released a tribute to Mountain Dew, called “Mountain Dew (I Need It).” Their last full length album was Tight New Dimension, released April 2016 through Fat Wreck Chords.