A debut album should stand as a bold statement of intent. Some bands absolutely nail the formula that they will rigidly stick to for their illustrious careers like Slayer did with Show No Mercy (Metal Blade Records). For others, it can be the start of a journey that is a mystery yet to unfold as they explore their own sounds and find comfort in their own abilities, see Undertow (Zoo Entertainment) by Prog Metal maestros, Tool. With their first full-length and self-titled effort (Sharptone), where do Holding Absence sit?Continue reading
The self-titled album is an interesting concept. Where the eponymous opus is not a debut, it is usually installed into a band’s canon as a way of stating that a specific album is either a summation of everything that represents a band – their pinnacle and natural conclusion of a journey of sound – or a launch of a bold new chapter, a “look at me now” redesign and rebranding. Fourth album in, and Australian Alternative Rock act Dead Letter Circus have opted to go down that route as a way of combining both those factors – a presentation of all that they have been, and a refocusing and refining of direction.
It’s hard to fathom that Good Charlotte has been around for over twenty years – it doesn’t seem that long since the Maryland natives were the one band to really thrive in the pop-punk MTV explosion of the early 2000’s with the very successful The Young and The Hopeless (Epic/Daylight). They’re released a number of hits since then, the Madden brothers took time off for a side project, got married to Hollywood darlings, and came back with 2016’s Youth Authority (MDDN) to much praise from old fans, and not so much from others.
Boston Manor began their rock stardom journey in 2013 with the release of their first EP, Here Now. Three years later, Be Nothing put them on the map and showed a darker side to the enthusiastic Pop-Punk of the time. Their sophomore release, Welcome To The Neighborhood (Pure Noise) manifests into a dramatic avalanche of progressive pop-punk expressed through emotionally driven, raw lyrics—leaving behind what you would typically think of pop-punk.
Muncie Girls are following up their 2016 release From Caplan to Belsize (Animal Style) with Fixed Ideals (Specialist Subject), and it confirms they are one the best female fronted projects since The Distillers. This sophomore effort is superb, and absolutely the soundtrack which summer should end with. 