ALBUM REVIEW: Pop Evil- Skeletons


 

Long-time hard rock champs Pop Evil have unveiled their latest album, Skeletons (MNRK Music Group). Discussing the album, frontman Leigh Kakaty said, “This is about us as a band stripping everything down to the bones. It’s more up-tempo, it’s got bigger riffs, and we’re trying to capture the energy of our live show. But it’s also a positive message, I know it’s a morbid visual, but behind every skeleton, there’s a story and something worth talking about. Overall, it’s about looking at something in a positive way. And I’m excited for everyone to hear that.”

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ALBUM REVIEW: Story of the Year – Tear Me To Pieces


 

Nostalgia has gripped the wrist of time and slung every once-angsty teen back into the mid-noughties. There is an ongoing resurgence of beloved emo, alt-rock, post-Hardcore, and Pop-Punk acts flooding stages and fests again. Hopefully, the remaining slots are many because Story of the Year is another to add to the emo revival.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Can’t Swim – Thanks But No Thanks


 

New Jersey is a rock, emo, and pop-punk music mecca, so it comes as no surprise that rock/pop-punk champs Can’t Swim would hail from the same. They’ve dabbled in a couple of genres on past albums like hardcore and indie before settling into more of the pop-punk vein which fits like a glove for the group. The quartet is gearing up for the release of their fourth album, Thanks But No Thanks (Pure Noise) as it drops the same day as their US-wide tour kick-off supporting Free Throw

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INTERVIEW: Christopher LoPorto of Can’t Swim – “Thanks But No Thanks” Album Breakdown


 

Ghost Cult’s Jessie Frary caught up with Can’t Swim singer Christopher LoPorto to discuss their new album “Thanks But No Thanks” – out soon from Pure Noise Records! Christopher gave a track-by-track breakdown of the new album, gave some anecdotes about the band, and the plusses of unconventional creative partners!

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ALBUM REVIEW: Amber Run – How To Be Human


 

UK indie trio Amber Run has a song likely everyone has heard, whether realized or not. Their saturnine piano hit ‘I Found’ from their 2015 debut album 5AM has been used in several television shows, played immeasurable times over the radio, and of course, became a viral TikTok sound. With nearly a gargantuan 325M streams on Spotify alone, the timeless hit has covered unfathomable ground. Now with their fourth full-length album How To Be Human (TRIPEL Records) Amber Run kicks off a promising album with a short yet equally captivating piano-vocal intro with ‘Flowers (Interlude I)’.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Shell Beach – Solar Flare


 

Budapest-based experimental post-hardcore quintet Shell Beach merges dreamlike ambiance with hardcore heft in Solar Flare (Wild Thing). As a well-respected and admired underground Hungarian group within the rock scene, the band has expanded and honed its talent and lineup. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Pierce the Veil – The Jaws of Life




Thanks to TikTok trends resurrecting decade-old (and older) pop-punk and emo hits and spreading them like wildfire to a new surge of listeners, there has been a nostalgic Noughties emo revival. Between the majorly sentimental lineup of the When We Were Young Fest and bands like My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Thursday, Blink-182, Sunny Day Real Estate, and others, snapping out of hiatus and flooding stages once again, it should come as no surprise that Pierce the Veil is rejoining the ranks.

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EP REVIEW: Dream State – Untethered


 

As of February 2022, the UK’s Dream State lingered in limbo after the announcement came that all music fans fear. Vocalist CJ Gilpin and guitarist Rhys Wilcox would be departing from the lineup. Both band members stepped down for personal/mental health reasons, but as for the last remaining founding member, Aled Evans decided to charge forward instead of closing the book for good.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Alex Melton – Southern Charm


 

Music lovers that find themselves doom-scrolling on TikTok are likely to have stumbled into Alex Melton’s amped-up pop-Punk renditions of Country icons like Chris Stapleton and Garth Brooks, or more subdued country takes on the likes of A Day to Remember, or Green Day

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ALBUM REVIEW: Emarosa – Sting



In 2019, Emarosa underwent a brave shift from the harder, alternative scene to a dreamy, pop synth-wave sound with Peach Club. The album garnered lots of attention which led to a sold-out, nationwide tour. Vocalist Bradley Scott and guitarist ER White proved the revamp worked and the duo has returned with a sophomore album to that shift, titled Sting (Out of Line)

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