ALBUM REVIEW: Movements – RUCKUS


 

Ever since their debut album, Feel Something, blew up in 2017, the massive surge of dedicated fans have held Southern California post-hardcore and emo band Movements to a high standard when it comes to follow-up material. As the group grows older, their music continues to grow with them, as made evident with their 2020 release No Good Left To Give, and now their third full-length album, RUCKUS! (Fearless Records). While the band is no longer the same sad boys they started out as, there are still pieces of their old selves mixed into their new, matured evolution, with RUCKUS! about to elicit a peculiar balance of dancing, moshing, and crying.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Skindred – Smile


 

Beloved Newport, UK quartet Skindred have returned to show off more of their eclectic musical expertise with their new album Smile (Earache Records).  The album title was inspired by the reactions the band has received from large and small crowds alike throughout their career in live performances.

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ALBUM REVIEW: James And The Cold Gun – James And The Cold Gun – Loosgroove Records


 

With how common it has become for strong artists to get watered down by overproduction, it is refreshing to hear some raw, straightforward garage rock made solely for the love of music. Cardiff-based quintet James And The Cold Gun recorded their self-titled debut album (Loosegroove Records) from their very own garage, bringing an astute balance of polish and roughness – in other words, pure rock n’ roll. 

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EP REVIEW: PLAIINS – Puppet – self-released


 

It’s not every day you come across a band with members from Hong Kong, Israel, and Germany, giving them such universally diverse perspectives as the shameless genre-benders of PLAIINS – let alone ones with the musical chemistry to create an EP like Puppet (Self-Released). Through a seamless blend of punk, indie, hardcore, and alternative rock, the multicultural trio uses their range of experiences to oppose political issues from around the globe. Thus, making them lyrically relatable across nations, as well as sonically appealing to indie and punk fans alike.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Trophy Eyes – Suicide And Sunshine


 

Five years and a near-breakup since their last full-length record, Australian rock outfit Trophy Eyes have fortunately returned for the foreseeable future. The long-awaited fourth album, Suicide And Sunshine (Hopeless Records) has reinforced the connection shared between the four-piece band. In the process, they made their most vocally, musically, and emotionally diverse collection of songs yet. 

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EP REVIEW: Sicksense – Fools Tomorrow


 

While the leading names in Nu-metal are ones that started twenty to thirty years ago, bands like Sicksense bring high hopes for the genre’s future. Testing the limits of the style Linkin Park and Korn made history with, the group shares their second EP, Fools Tomorrow (Sound Escape Agency), a sequel to their debut EP Kings Today. They each promote the idea of holding on tight to the throne earned from major achievements, stating that it could always be pulled from right under you if your hard work ceases. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Used – Toxic Positivity


 

From the album title alone, it is evident that The Used are just as sincere in their art as they’ve always been over the last two decades. Nine albums deep into their career, the emo quartet have graced us with the blunt Toxic Positivity (Hassle Records). The record calls out the detrimental mindset of suppressing negative emotions, addressing how it worsens one’s mental health over time due to ignored bottled-up feelings. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Amity Affliction – Not Without My Ghosts


 

When any kind of metal band promotes their new material as “the heaviest music they’ve ever made”, it’s usually met with eye rolls from fans who have heard this very promise time and time again from their favorite groups who failed to deliver. Hearing this from The Amity Affliction, a group that has always stood on the lighter side of metalcore, I was one of the skeptical ones. Ever since the Australian quartet released their instant classic Let The Ocean Take Me in 2014, each album following has paled in comparison. 

Until now.

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ALBUM REVIEW: As Everything Unfolds – Ultraviolet


 

Breaking through the UK with their enchanting blend of alternative rock and metal, British quintet As Everything Unfolds continue developing their recipe for success with their sophomore album, Ultraviolet (Long Branch Records). The record’s name is inspired by a metaphor for gaining new perspectives on life and is an astoundingly fitting descriptor for the aural experience achieved by each track’s dynamic arrangements. 

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EP REVIEW: Atreyu – The Hope Of A Spark


 

Having approached their twentieth year of being a staple in the metalcore scene, the prodigies of Atreyu still haven’t lost their spark (no pun intended) with the new EP The Hope Of A Spark (Spinefarm Records). Drawing from the commonalities of the quintet’s personal lives, each song is truly a shared effort among the five of them – not only musically, but conceptually.

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