1. Sobs - Air Guitar (Singapore)
Genre: Indie/Rock/Pop/Shoegaze Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2gj35CRyiuvuJ5VzjkX52i?si=zjE052DjRg60we5zQz1-6A
Dedicated to the power of pop music, Sobs are Singapore’s premier indiepop propagandists. After releasing a breakout bedroom pop EP Catflap and a dream-jangle LP Telltale Signs that brought international embrace, Sobs now assemble a front-to-back indiepop behemoth – Air Guitar – after a much anticipated three-year wait. A thirty-minute trip for the post-Internet consumer, Ait Guitar calibrates inventive pop hooks for the indie rock lover, instantly accessible yet intricately arranged. The album draws a line through the history of pop stylistics from 80s new wave [Last Resort] and 90s power-pop [Burn Book] to 00s sk8er punk and radio pop [Air Guitar]. Further informed by the cosmopolitan, culturally astute ethos of PC Music – Sobs connects the uptempo of Shibuya’s Advantage Lucy [Lucked Out], heart-on-sleeve indie rock of Bettie Serveert and [World Implode], with the eclecticism of New York’s Darla Records [Friday Night] to define the pulse of indiepop then and now. Sobs is Celine Autumn, Jared Lim and Raphael Ong.
2. Darkthrone - Astral Fortress (Akershus, Norway)
Genre: Black Metal Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kWnE981vITXDnAD2cZmCV?si=6iNqn8d_TXiPZisDp64RSw
From their formation back in 1986, to becoming one of Norways’s finest musical exports (with a number of highly revered black metal masterpieces released in the early 90’s helping to solidify their legacy), Darkthrone has continued to evolve and challenge in equal measure, throughout their illustrious recording career spanning over three decades. And now, the ever-productive duo of Nocturno and Fenriz continue their own metallic saga with a new selection of fine, vintage sounding headbanging classics in the making.Carried on the brisk wind of eager rock, with foundations in black, thrash, doom and heavy metal, ‘Astral Fortress’ is the latest album of stellar, eclectic old metal in the Darkthrone odyssey. With a seemingly endless dungeon full of heavy metal influences channelled through Darkthrone’s dynamic riff-machine, plus also with many increasing inspirations taken from their own past catalogue, Darkthrone has truly become its own beast within the metal world. Even though sprinkled with atmospheric touches such as synthesizers and mellotron on ‘Astral Fortress’ to great effect, the Darkthrone sound remains stripped down to the core; always primitive and organic.‘Astral Fortress’ was recorded at Chaka Khan Studios in Oslo, the same location used for the ‘Eternal Hails’ album, with Ole Øvstedal and Silje Høgevold.
3. Yung Gravy - Marvelous (Rochester, Minnesota)
Genre: Hip-Hop Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2YOYua8FpudSEiB9s88IgQ?si=fX_lusrXQVGlT0BYWkawGA
Yung Gravy, a 26 year old rapper from Minnesota; makes music for your mother, your sister, and even your father.
4. Polyphia - Remember That You Will Die (Plano, Texas)
Genre: Instrumental/ Progressive Metal Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4vGrte8FDu062Ntj0RsPiZ?si=myVN0nbYRUC-0B9xSHxOww
Blending technical, weaving instrumentations with hip-hop, jazz and R&B influenced grooves, Polyphia has created a massively impressive sound that is all their own.
5. Tigers Jaw - Old Clothes (Scranton, Pennsylvania)
Genre: Indie/Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0tLaqkKW7K6tc3QF9SM0M8?si=w88sqRwtRd-LHqhIuP0J-w
A real cool band. Tigers Jaw was formed in 2005 by Ben Walsh and Adam McIlwee. Characterized by unconventionally catchy songs, weaving harmonies, and timelessly relatable lyricism, the band has been organically increasing its fanbase over a decade-plus of touring and releasing music. The latest effort, I Won't Care How You Remember Me, showcases a band who is confident and adventurous, forging trust in friendship alongside musicianship over years of steady touring. The lineup of Walsh, Brianna Collins, Teddy Roberts, and Colin Gorman have managed to craft a timeless and dynamic album that is both a confident step forward and an essential release in an already celebrated catalogue of music. Aptly described as the middle ground between Fleetwood Mac and Saves the Day, Tigers Jaw have managed to progress and evolve while preserving the spirit of their modest origins in the scrappy DIY Scranton punk scene. Tigers Jaw Forever.
6. Fit For A King - The Hell We Create (Tyler, Texas)
Genre: Metalcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0OgdRTPItr9dw4XYp4JJUx?si=FE6--fxZTFe3JUoRhmXrgA
Trauma and tragedy transfer from one generation to the next. As difficult as it may be, we still possess the power to break the cycle and start anew. Fit For A King ponder the pain of these cycles and the possibility to end them on their seventh full-length offering, The Hell We Create [Solid State]. The Texas quintet—Ryan Kirby [vocals], Bobby Lynge [guitar], Daniel Gailey [guitar], Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary [bass], and Trey Celaya [drums]—explore this ebb and flow with a deft, yet delicate balance of sharp metallic intensity and soaring melodic energy. “The album is a reflection of the events that happened throughout the pandemic,” recalls Ryan. “In short, my wife and I adopted children and had to homeschool them. She almost died from a stroke. The Hell We Create is by far the deepest and most personal record we’ve ever written.” In 2011, Fit For A King emerged out of Texas with a searing signature style rooted in metal and hardcore and uplifted by hypnotic hooks. Following the breakout LP Creation/Destruction [2013], they earned four consecutive Top 5 debuts on both the Billboard Top Christian Albums Chart and the Top Hard Rock Albums Chart with Slave to Nothing [2014], Deathgrip [2016], Dark Skies [2018], and The Path [2020]. The latter marked their first #1 on the Top Christian Albums Chart and Top 10 on the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart. Plus, the band collaborated with fellow heavy-hitters such as August Burns Red and We Came As Romans.
7. Demon Hunter - Exile (Seattle, Washington)
Genre: Metalcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6f3a43i1MJZwdjEpV1M0oH?si=y_PwYlaITzCj-6-R2fP-tg
Demon Hunter is an American metal institution. The band embraces brazenly transcendent melodies, without apology, while maintaining a defiant heaviness reminiscent of the most timeless of metal music. For two decades, Demon Hunter has weathered the changing tides of rock subculture, proving ever resistant to trends, and ever resilient, making music as determined and resolute as the men within the band.Demon Hunter’s body of work is born from unwavering commitment, uncompromising creative determination, and stark recognition of the reality of an often-cold world, tempered in defiant hope. It’s made up of smartly constructed, confessional lyrics; heady and catchy melody; monster riffs; bottom heavy grooves; the collision of meticulous production and urgent raw power; bold imagery and bolder themes.The band's eleventh studio album, EXILE, is now available.
8. Martha - Please Don't Take Me Back (County Durham, England)
Genre: Indie Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/13pUNMhUQ52yyV50VbuhtK?si=L42YhrlHQM6WJozbpwDYCw
Martha are a rock band from Pity Me, a village in County Durham in the North East of England. After singles on their own Discount Horse label and Odd Box Records, their debut album Courting Strong, was released on Fortuna Pop! and Salinas Records in 2014. As of 2019 they have released three full-length albums on cult UK and US based independent record labels.
They have described themselves as queer, straight edge, vegan and anarchist. They have no designated front person and all contribute vocals. Two members of Martha previously founded (and still play in) the band ONSIND, and another leads the band No Ditching.
They have variously cited The Housemartins, Motown, Billy Bragg, The Thermals, Ted Leo, power pop, The Replacements, Heart, The Marked Men, Big Star, Masshysteri, and The Exploding Hearts as influences.
9. The Hunna - S/T (Hertfordshire, England)
Genre: Punk Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7jZycSvTyx0W9poD4PjEIG?si=FkCSJW1bRWSuPN8-CVNb2Q
No one ever said international rock stardom was easy, but The Hunna have often made it look that way.Their rise to global success has been meteoric: formed in 2015, their 2016 debut album, ‘100’, went gold and shot into the UK Top 20. The 2018 follow-up, ‘Dare’, climbed even higher, as The Hunna built a golden reputation for crafting instant rock anthems.Live, they’ve always been one of the most exciting bands on the circuit, with an insanely devoted fanbase guaranteed to turn every gig and festival appearance into an unmissable event. 2022 helped The Hunna deliver their greatest and most ambitious album yet. An album that bristles with the pent-up emotions that lingered through that long lockdown. Produced by the legendary Gil Norton, it’s an album to sit comfortably alongside some of the classic records he’s worked on, from Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ to the Foo Fighters’ ‘The Colour And The Shape’ and Jimmy Eat World’s ‘Futures’.“We’re a real band, we always have been,” Ryan (Vox) stresses. “We write our own songs, from the heart. We’re three best friends who’ve always lived 10 minutes away from each other. We just want to make music, say the things we want to say, have fun and be unapologetically us. If that’s not cool to some people, fair enough, but it’s cool to us.”
10. Despised Icon - DÉTERRÉ (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
Genre: Deathcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3MjNMjqBpaQ0P8ebfbZjYn?si=r2O_fiMCSA24Y4lmovNFlg
Montreal deathcore OG’s, Despised Icon ,are celebrating their 20-year anniversary via a special rarities EP, entitled Déterré.
Déterré means ‘Unearthed" in French. This is exactly what the latest release from Despised Icon is. The EP consists of five old-school songs dating back to 2004. It seemed fitting to remaster and re-release these early recordings to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the band, which took form in 2002.
11. Psychonaut - Violate Consensus Reality (Mechelen, Belgium)
Genre: psychedelic post-metal Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/604HhRLmc5DXNS221XKm3a?si=TiIkt1lhSVuKaPlHBe-BMA
PSYCHONAUT is a psychedelic post-metal collective from Mechelen, Belgium. Their signature sound is heavily influenced by 70’s bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, but also draws inspiration from more modern sources like Tool and Amenra.
12. Arm's Length - Never Before Seen, Never Again Found (Quinte West, Ontario, Canada)
Genre: Indie Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1KXSj6uiC8Wtl2wCckVmAD?si=5F2GyS5pTqO3phebhCl5Vg
blue beyond belief
13. Dr. Acula - S/T (Long Island, New York)
Genre: Deathcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/27H1vwD2AiNOHp5W7iP282?si=8NdkhNcmT8-3SSqvuWq67Q
The recently reunited Dr. Acula is a comeback of epic proportions – a radical reboot that sees this comedic outfit reborn as a dark, focused, beast of a modern metal band.Founded in 2005 in Long Island, New York, Dr. Acula was named after a Mitch Hedberg stand-up bit: "I went to the doctor. All he did was suck blood from my neck. Do not go see Dr. Acula." Fueled by sophomoric humor and a gleeful compulsion to mash genres, the young bucks released four full length albums and two EPs via labels such as Victory and Uprising.Now, ten years since the last album, Dr. Acula's founding members have reclaimed their band.
14. Girlpuppy - When I'm Alone (Atlanta, Georgia)
Genre: Indie Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2dV0D4uKMB4c8VhYHzt360?si=gjZAbstbSUaS7RtH6B4U2A
The Atlanta-based singer and songwriter Becca Harvey's lyrics are filled with an undisguised sentimentality and witty self-effacement, a mix that's garnered quick acclaim for her project, girlpuppy. Since girlpuppy's debut in 2020, Harvey has applied her emotional and vocal versatility to whatever genre she sees most fit to explore. First came the lo-fi guitar pop of introductory single “For You”; next, the self-described “sad girl” indie of 2021’s Swan EP, a collaboration with producer Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers, Ada Lea) that drew praise from the likes of NPR and Nylon; in 2022 “I Miss When I Smelled Like You,” girlpuppy’s foray into ‘70s-indebted arena pop, saw her team up with Doug Schadt (Maggie Rogers, Claud) on a breezily yearning break up jam. Striving for self-betterment is at the core of her 2022 full length debut, When I’m Alone, a record which centers Harvey’s dreamy vocals in intricate soundscapes, all while confronting the introspective thoughts she’s experienced in isolation. Recorded with Alex G guitarist Sam Acchione (who's production work Harvey admired on Tomberlin’s Projections EP), engineered and mixed by Henry Stoehr of the Chicago band Slow Pulp, and combining influences as diverse as My Bloody Valentine, Caroline Polacheck, and the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack, When I'm Alone is her biggest, deepest, most complete project to date.
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1. Full of Hell - Aurora Leaking from an Open Wound (Ocean City, Maryland)
Genre: Grindcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1i5rlthy5CmAYWaFOB0jhz?si=rXB0PgK1Q6WZhChyuHCJ0g
“I have the utmost respect for purists of any genre, but for me it’s boring to stay in one lane. Full Of Hell has always strived to be the band that we wished existed when we were kids. We’ve always liked the deep, jarring contrast of blending a lot of styles together.”
That’s vocalist Dylan Walker talking about the genre-bending blitzkrieg of powerviolence, grind and death metal that has propelled Full Of Hell to the forefront of extreme music in the last decade. He and guitarist Spencer Hazard, drummer Dave Bland and bassist Sam DiGristine steamrolled the underground with their 2017 breakout album Trumpeting Ecstasy and 2019’s Weeping Choir, both of which ranked high on year-end best-of lists from the likes of Decibel, Revolver and Cvlt Nation.
Emerging from the pandemic with their fifth full-length, Garden Of Burning Apparitions, Full Of Hell have added new dimensions to their warp-speed hellscape. “This one is definitely more influenced by noise rock,” says Hazard, crediting his participation in Philly AmRep mainliners Eye Flys with a spillover effect. “But these FOH songs are more influenced by stuff like Zeni Geva and Harvey Milk rather than Helmet or Unsane. I wanted to balance that sound with our usual death metal/grind approach.”
Produced by Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Garden Of Burning Apparitions also sees Hazard incorporating new guitar tunings into Full Of Hell’s sonic palette.
2. Bayside - The Red EP (Bayside, Queens, New York City)
Genre: Emo / Pop-Punk / Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/51J0q8S7W3kIEYHQi3EPqk?si=p8fMaA-ZQxKqlai-9Z2hgQ
A veteran New York punk outfit with a strong melodic emo sound, Bayside rose to mainstream success in the mid-2000s with a series of records for the Victory label. After enduring a tragic 2005 van accident, the group rallied to release 2007's The Walking Wounded, kicking off a streak of increasingly successful albums including 2011's Killing Time and 2014's Cult, which, at number 24 on the Billboard 200, marked their highest chart performance to date. Along the way, the Queens-based combo expanded their sound with several acoustic releases, a live album, and a set of eclectic covers. After releasing 2019's Interrobang LP, Bayside capped off two decades together with 2020's Acoustic, Vol. 3.
Singer/guitarist Anthony Raneri formed Bayside in late 2000, taking the band's name from their local neighborhood in Queens. ,Raneri’s bassist Andrew Elderbaum, and drummer Jason Enz recorded the band's 2001 debut EP, Long Stories Short, and began to build up their fan base through heavy touring and festival appearances. After a 2003 split EP with West Coast band Name Taken, Bayside signed with Victory Records, which issued their full-length debut, Sirens and Condolences, in January 2004. For their follow-up album, the group defied convention and, instead of using any of their own genre's go-to producers, hired Shep Goodman and Kenny Gioia, a team whose credits included Lee Ann Womack and Mandy Moore. Their gamble paid off when 2005's self-titled Bayside album cracked the Billboard 200 and helped usher them into the mainstream. On October 31 of that year, after a tour stop in Colorado, Bayside's van skidded off an icy patch of road in Cheyenne, Wyoming, killing then drummer John Holohan and seriously injuring bassist Nick Ghanbarian. and lead guitarist Jack O'Shea were shaken but received only minor injuries.
After the tragedy, Bayside moved on to enlist drummer Chris Guglielmo for their third album, 2007's aptly titled The Walking Wounded. Guglielmo's arrival helped cement the consistent lineup that would carry the band through their most successful period. Improving on The Walking Wounded's already impressive chart performance, their 2008 album Shudder hit number 54 on the pop chart and was accompanied by the group's first live album, Live @ the Bayside Social Club. At the turn of the decade, Bayside was in the catbird seat, with a strong catalog behind them and a steady live presence. For their fifth album, they hired British producer Gil Norton ( Pixies, Echo & The Bunnymen, Foo Fighters ) and began recording in Woodstock, New York. Released in 2011 by , Killing Time was both a critical success and a commercial improvement on its predecessor. To commemorate a massive fall tour with Saves the day, I Am The Avalanche, and Transit, Bayside contributed a track to a four-way single featuring each of the bands.
Raneri issued his first solo project, a 2012 EP, after which Bayside offered up the eclectic Covers, Vol. 1, which saw them taking on songs by Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, and Van Morrison. After signing with the Hopeless label, the group worked again with Shep Goodman, who along with Aaron Accetta co-produced 2014's Cult. The album peaked at number 24, giving Bayside their highest position yet, and kicked off a year of heavy touring with Alkaline Trio, Senses Fail, Seaway and others. After 2016's Vacancy, the quartet recorded a follow-up to their 2006 Acoustic EP, simply titled Acoustic, Vol. 2, which featured stripped-down renditions of songs from recent albums. Bayside's eighth studio album, Interrobang, arrived in October 2019, along with the announcement of an online Battle of the Bands in which local groups could compete for a chance to open a show for them. In 2020, Bayside were forced to cancel a major 20th anniversary tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They issued Acoustic, Vol. 3 in December of that year. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi
3. Knifeplay - Animal Drowning (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre: Indie-Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7oT0M95uIX2aJGN4we092i?si=vcNPgxPkSg-owEakaiAAvQ
Knifeplay’s take on dream-pop can be grand and almost orchestral, as on opening track “Nobody,” which builds to a finale where the keyboards soar like a symphony. They can also be hushed and ghostly, as on advance track “Ryan Song.” They don’t forget the “pop” side of the hyphen — “Lonely Sun” is phenomenally hooky even when waves of static come ripping across the mix — yet the same song that’s as hauntingly gorgeous as Cocteau Twins ends up as crushingly heavy as Nothing. There’s a lot more than just ethereal texture happening under the surface here.
As promising as it was, lead single “Promise” did not prepare you for how beautiful and invigorating Animal Drowning can be. Taken together, it’s just a spectacular collection of music, and you should immerse yourself in it below at the first opportunity.
- Chris Deville at Stereogum
4. Architects - The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit (Brighton, United Kingdom)
Genre: Metalcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3ZztVuWxHzNpl0THurTFCv?si=HL81twBZTmCf42xc7fxpyA
As a band who never stop writing, the kernels of the songs that make up ‘the classic symptoms of a broken spirt’ were already in progress before the ink had time to dry on the artwork of their last record. Architects were on a creative roll, and the record was born of that creative freedom. Produced by Dan Searle and Josh Middleton, with additional production from Sam Carter at Decon’s Middle Farm Studios and their own Brighton Electric Studios before being mixed by Zakk Cervini, the band were buoyed by finally being back in a room together after their last album was made mostly remotely due to COVID restrictions. The result was something altogether more “free, playful and spontaneous,” Searle explains.
5. Frankie Cosmos - Inner World Peace (New York, New York)
Genre: Indie Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0x4xCoWaOFd3WsKarzaxnW?si=Be-aidHxTaC5NZKZy6Ld6A
Guided by the succinct, sweet, and self-conscious tendencies of singer/songwriter Greta Kline, indie pop group Frankie Cosmos started as a prolific home-based solo project in the early 2010s. As young teen in the late 2000s, she tapped into the quirky vibes of New York's SideWalk Cafe anti-folk scene, which had given birth to The Moldy Peaches early in the decade, as well as the D.I.Y. ethos of K Records . Her songs appeared mostly online in various albums, sometimes on a monthly basis. Growing in popularity and influence, Frankie Cosmos made her studio and label debut with Zentropy in 2014. Two years later, Next Thing was her first Top 40 independent album. Though Kline had been recording with a backing band since Zentropy, the project's first official outing as a group was 2018's Vessel, Frankie Cosmos' Sub-Pop debut.
A native New Yorker, Kline is the daughter of actors Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates. Having played piano and drums and settled on guitar by the seventh grade, she frequented local underground rock shows in her youth. After being introduced to a small community of encouraging artists at Purchase College in Westchester, she began writing and recording her own songs. Kline herself attended N.Y.U., where she studied poetry. Though she began uploading songs under aliases including ingrid superstar, Little Bear, and the Ingrates as early as 2009, by 2012 Kline had dropped out of college to focus on music and was playing shows and recording under the name Frankie Cosmos.
Following dozens of home-recorded, self-released collections, Frankie Cosmos' label debut, Zentropy, arrived on Double Double Whammy in 2014. It represented Kline's first studio album, completed with the help of a full band. She soon signed with Bayonet Records , which issued the four-track Fit Me In EP a year later. The second Frankie Cosmos studio album was written as the songwriter transitioned into her twenties. Titled Next Thing, it saw release in 2016, also on Bayonet. Next Thing spent a week at the number 13 spot on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and was a Top 40 independent album.
Kline joined Warehouse members Alex Bailey and Doug Bleichner on side project Lexie in mid-2017, issuing the eight-track debut Record Time! Ava Luna's Carlos Hernandez recorded and mixed the album. That same year, Frankie Cosmos officially became a four-piece and signed with Sub Pop Records.
Featuring Kline with Lauren Martin on keys, David Maine (aka Main) on bass, and Luke Pyenson on drums, they made their Sub Pop debut with Vessel in 2018. It was a Top Ten Heatseekers album and reached number 21 on Billboard's independent albums chart. Alex Bailey, who contributed guitar to the album, replaced Maine as the group's bassist in time for subsequent touring. A digital-only collection consisting of piano songs recorded by a solo Kline and first issued as weekly singles, Frankie Cosmos' Haunted Items followed in April 2019. Back with bandmates Martin, Pyenson, and Bailey, that September's Close It Quietly was tracked with engineer/co-producer Gabe Wax. ~ Marcy Donelson & Fred Thomas, Rovi
6. Billy Cobb - Halloween VII (Pennsylvania)
Genre: Indie-Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1jIl0sLvlOzGpT2RqPBfyE?si=Jv123iU-QqWRmvztl-kjhA
That one guy who made the punk version of Gary's Song
7. Pinkshift - Love Me Forever (Baltimore, Maryland)
Genre: Pop/Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3bfSaJqEYosPcdoCN06G3P?si=Q7VzKXlfTiiq2JgPd8m4qg
Pinkshift is an angsty rock band new to the scene from Baltimore. Inspired by dissonant heavy tones of 90s grunge and powerful hooks and breakdowns of 2000s pop punk, the band walks the lines between grunge, punk rock, and post-hardcore. Altogether they embrace their diverse influences to create an authentic and powerful sound. Pinkshift is Ashrita Kumar (vocals), Paul Vallejo (guitar), and Myron Houngbedji (drums). Photos by Leigh Ann Rodgers
8. Inclination - Unaltered Perspective (Louisville, Kentucky)
Genre: Straight Edge Hardcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4b3YHpER4myVsne2QK3kXe?si=EWU9ekNzQaqyYdUyArqQSA
"Unaltered Perspective, the upcoming album from the Louisville-based straight edge hardcore band is their debut full-length album and is scheduled to be released in October this year, via Pure Noise Records.
Speaking about the upcoming debut album, bassist Caleb Murphy says, “the lyrical aim of Unaltered Perspective was capture the anguish and sadness wrought by a series of observations and lived experiences. Frustration from being at the mercy of a society. that treats people as a commodity, or the despair of a friend throwing their life away for nothing. The record is about looking at these experiences as an opportunity for self-reflection and growth, and making a conscious decision to not let your past limit your future. It’s about finding the strength to keep fighting. The record draws a lot of influences from 90s metallic hardcore but also treads into territory that is new to INCLINATION. We wholeheartedly think it is our absolute best material to date.” Alongside the announcement of the new album, the band have released a new song from the upcoming album; Epidemic. The new song is the third single to be released from the upcoming album; following on from Thoughts And Prayers and A Decision, which were both released back in February.The new song features a guest appearance from INDECISION vocalist Tom Sheehan. Speaking about the new song, vocalist Tyler Short says, “the message in Epidemic stems from the wanton destruction brought on by the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. Politicians and policy makers happily look the other way and get rich while the opioid crisis kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. Tom Sheehan from INDECISION recorded a part on the track and his unmistakable voice and style really amplify the frustration and desperation conveyed throughout the song.”
- James Weaver at Distorted Sound Magazine"
9. Witch Fever -Congregation (Manchester, United Kingdom)
Genre: Emo/ Rock/ Indie Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Zdd7fqk5jtuMUwE7agpS1?si=8WLNdJPySaOhj4HrMAhkYg
It’s already shaping up to be a brilliant year for Witch Fever. After opening for emo legends My Chemical Romance back in May and delivering one of Reading Festival 2022’s best sets, – which NME described as “the future of heavy music” – the Manchester punk quartet are now looking to close out 2022 the only way they know how: with a dose of ear-splitting, blaring anger.
Their debut album ‘Congregation’ kicks off with ‘Blessed Be Thy’, which snarls into life with a burst of seething, grunge-influenced guitar. The track is named after a hymn that lead vocalist Amy Walpole used to sing at weekly services while growing up as part of a Charismatic Church – a branch of Christianity that worships the miracles and modern day workings of the Holy Spirit. In the hands of Witch Fever, however, ‘Blessed Be Thy’ is reimagined as a vicious rallying cry against an oppressive religious establishment: “A slow decline, the cursed divine,” leers Walpole, who left the church at 16. “You’re dumb to think I would choose this.”
This anti-church sentiment is a motif that courses through the entire album. Title track ‘Congregation’ laments the unhealthy grip that many churchgoers are trapped in (‘Wracked in guilt / The whole congregation”), while ‘Market’ is a attack on communion that’s rife with twisted, spiritual lyricism (“The flesh and bone the body and wine, Drink it up oh child of mine”). ‘Bloom’, meanwhile, explores escaping a religion that represses personality, and its stifling imagery goes a long way towards explaining why Witch Fever’s music sounds like the unleashing of years of pent-up rage. “They won’t take no for an answer / As if they ever fucking ask,” roars Walpole in rousing punk anthem ‘Sour’, which calls listeners to action with an urgent chant: “Yeah, we incite this violence / Nothing ever changed in silence.” Combined with ‘Congregation’’s riotous energy, these confrontational lyrics cement the album as an essential punk listen – Witch Fever’s rage at our broken institutions is righteous, and delivered with confidence, feeling and vitality. But it’s not all fire and fury: Witch Fever serve up a one-two punch at the end of the record that hints at what else they have left in their sonic arsenal. The aptly named ‘Slow Burn’ may be the album’s most subtle track – drifting along on a measured, expanding guitar twang – but it sets up ’12’ to close out proceedings with one last furious, full-blooded scream. It’s hard to envision a future where Witch Fever’s debut album doesn’t win them hordes of moshing fans: ‘Congregation’ is a fiery, relentless punk blowout that pulls no punches against priests, patriarchy and those who abuse power from the top of our society.
10. A Wake In Providence - Eternity (New York City, New York)
Genre: Deathcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/60HAu8nsOGLPFtOOvar9wa?si=6YeUBGz5THCi_0wrN7ETZA
Eternity' is the latest and most ambitious offering from A WAKE IN PROVIDENCE. Essential for fans of Lorna Shore, Chelsea Grin, Septic Flesh and Crown Magnetar - AWIP bring American Modern Deathcore at it's absolute finest from one of the OG game changers in the genre. As one of US Deathcore's initial leading beacon acts, A WAKE IN PROVIDENCE rose to notoriety for their explosive live shows with then-vocalist Will Ramos, now in LORNA SHORE. With the addition of powerhouse ADAM MERCER in 2017 taking over vocals, AWIP released 'A Darkened Gospel' followed by the album 'The Black Sun : The Blood Moon' in 2019. 2022 sees them exploding back into the spotlight with an unstoppable new opus, ETERNITY.
11. Jobber - Hell In A Cell (EP) (Brooklyn, New York)
Genre: Indie-Rock/ Grunge/ Alternative Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Qfu29KtPFPfCedfmgpTh9?si=Ty0U5Lf4RWGtYQqYyAo30Q
The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be
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1. Say Sue Me - 10 (Busan, South Korea)
Genre: Indie Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4tvbo17gXpYgSr8sTlkaby?si=L_cdNX3ZS8KMfoYlb5e1sA
Say Sue Me are a Surf Rock inspired indie band from Busan, South Korea. Members consist of Byungkyu Kim on lead guitar, Sumi Choi on vocals and rhythm guitar, Jaeyoung Ha on Bass and Sungwan Lim on Drums. Releasing their first album”We’ve Sobered Up” in 2014, and EP “Big Summer Night” in 2015, on Korean label Electric Muse, UK label Damnably Records released a self-titled compilation that paired their first record and EP in 2017, marking the band’s first release outside of Korea, which served as their introduction to International audiences. The band released their sophomore album “Where We Were Together” in 2018, which won widespread praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Paste Magazine, NPR, Billboard, i-D, The Independent, Stereogum, MTV, Uproxx, Fader, Drowned in Sound, DIY, The 405 & more. The band have toured across Europe and Japan and appeared as part of the line up at SXSW, The Great Escape, Zandari Festa, Pentaport International Rock Festival, and the first DMZ Peace Train Music Festival in Korea’s Demilitarized Zone. They count Yo La Tengo, Japanese Breakfast, Snail Mail, The Ravonettes, Speedy Ortiz, The Beths, and The Notwist as fans. Say Sue Me were nominated for 5 Korean Music Awards (and winning 2) in 2019, making them the second most nominated act of the year. They will embark on their first North American tour in December.
2. Fit For A King - Times Like This (Tyler, Texas)
Genre: Metalcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0OgdRTPItr9dw4XYp4JJUx?si=6-HOBoPIROqyUTWo33gjAQ
Trauma and tragedy transfer from one generation to the next. As difficult as it may be, we still possess the power to break the cycle and start anew. Fit For A King ponder the pain of these cycles and the possibility to end them on their seventh full-length offering, The Hell We Create [Solid State]. The Texas quintet—Ryan Kirby [vocals], Bobby Lynge [guitar], Daniel Gailey [guitar], Ryan “Tuck” O’Leary [bass], and Trey Celaya [drums]—explore this ebb and flow with a deft, yet delicate balance of sharp metallic intensity and soaring melodic energy. “The album is a reflection of the events that happened throughout the pandemic,” recalls Ryan. “In short, my wife and I adopted children and had to homeschool them. She almost died from a stroke. The Hell We Create is by far the deepest and most personal record we’ve ever written.” In 2011, Fit For A King emerged out of Texas with a searing signature style rooted in metal and hardcore and uplifted by hypnotic hooks. Following the breakout LP Creation/Destruction [2013], they earned four consecutive Top 5 debuts on both the Billboard Top Christian Albums Chart and the Top Hard Rock Albums Chart with Slave to Nothing [2014], Deathgrip [2016], Dark Skies [2018], and The Path [2020]. The latter marked their first #1 on the Top Christian Albums Chart and Top 10 on the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart. Plus, the band collaborated with fellow heavy-hitters such as August Burns Red and We Came As Romans.
3. Sleeping with Sirens - Complete Collapse (Orlando, Florida)
Genre: Rock/Metal Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3N8Hy6xQnQv1F1XCiyGQqA?si=xw2n96I9S9mNbsRIGSWPMw
Sleeping With Sirens breathe rarified air. After fourteen years, five studio albums, and thousands of shows, the band has outlasted many of their peers while crafting an undeniably unique path through modern alternative rock. With each release, the quintet — Kellin Quinn [vocals, keyboards], Jack Fowler [lead guitar], Nick Martin [rhythm guitar], Justin Hills [bass], and Matty Best [drums] - continue to hone their mix of unflinchingly honest lyricism, unforgettable riffs, and pulse-pounding percussion while boldly exploring new creative frontiers. That future-forward perspective, coupled with a deep connection to listeners, has established Sleeping With Sirens as a beacon of hope in a world desperate to find silver linings. On Complete Collapse, the band’s sixth studio album, Sleeping With Sirens cut straight to the bone, as they process life in modern times. “We’re coming to terms with the new reality we are in,” explains Quinn. “Things have changed so rapidly, and we’re all doing our best to process it. There’s a feeling of heaviness to the record, both in sound and emotion. We’re trying to figure out what’s going on and where we’re going. We’ve seen so much stagnation, but also a lot of change that wasn’t necessarily for the better. We’re realizing now that our voice, and what we’re able to say or should say, needs to come through the music. It’s not about what you can say on Instagram or Twitter, it’s about what you’re saying through your work.”
4. Wild Pink - ILYSM (Brooklyn & Queens, New York City)
Genre: Indie Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2BS3fywRW33o5GygfzZaOZ?si=g7i1gH6lRJyXXQEqubFUng
The fourth full-length from Wild Pink, ILYSM unfolds with all the fractured beauty of a dreamscape. Over the course of 12 chameleonic tracks, the New York-bred rock band build another world inhabited by ghosts and angels and aliens, inciting a strange and lovely daze as the backdrop shifts from the mundane (subdivisions, highways, hotel parking lots) to the extraordinary (deserts, battlefields, the moon). But within its vast imagination lies a potent truth-telling on the part of singer/guitarist John Ross, whose lyrics closely examine his recent struggle with cancer. The follow-up to 2021’s A Billion Little Lights—a critically acclaimed effort praised by the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, Vulture, and Stereogum, who named it “one of the prettiest rock records of the past decade”—ILYSM emerges as a truly revelatory body of work, transforming the most painful reflection into moments of transcendence.
Co-produced by Ross with Justin Pizzoferrato (Pixies, Body/Head, Speedy Ortiz) and Peter Silberman of The Antlers, ILYSM finds Wild Pink joining forces with a thrilling lineup of guest musicians, including J Mascis, Julien Baker, Ryley Walker, Yasmin Williams and Samantha Crain. As the most experimental work to date from Wild Pink—whose lineup also includes bassist Arden Yonkers and drummer Dan Keegan—the album embodies a finespun yet mercurial sound embedded with so many unexpected details.
5. Lorna Shore - Pain Remains (Warren County, New Jersey)
Genre: Deathcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6vXYoy8ouRVib302zxaxFF?si=2qSH73jRROmdI_0Fs7xQYg
For LORNA SHORE, the triumvirate of songs at the heart of “…And I Return to Nothingness” are nothing short of an exorcism – and a plunge into something darker. From orchestral passage that opens the EP’s title track, straight into a bombast of blackened intensities and rampaging grandeur, these New Jersey-born extremists are back with their new frontman Will Ramos, rising from the askes like a phoenix. Reborn and sworn to the dark. A coming fire that even the LORNA SHORE faithful will be stunned by. As the world locked down in 2020, LORNA SHORE plunged deeper into the creative instincts that initially made them a fixture in the extreme metal scene with landmark albums: 2015’s “Psalms” and 2017’s “Flesh Coffin”. Since then, they’ve twisted together influences and ideas ranging from the symphonic grimness of European black metal to death metal’s complex fatal sonic formulas and hardcore’s aural intensities. What LORNA SHORE arrived at was a new level of blackened technicality and the next step in their darkside journey. Embellished with artwork by noted Polish painter Mariusz Lewnadowski (Bell Witch, Fuming Mouth) “…And I Return to Nothingness” reaffirms LORNA SHORE’s creative focus and intensity. The EP’s three tracks: “To the Hellfire”, “Of the Abyss” and the title track are proof that LORNA SHORE isn’t just continuing their fiery legacy. They’re reigniting it and spectacularly setting their very legacy ablaze.
6. Lacuna Coil - Comalies XX (Milan, Italy)
Genre: Hard Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4OAddazJM576euUnFSvXSL?si=quBtCdOQRGOuMCeiiuU-UA
Formed in 1994, Lacuna Coil quickly became one of Century Media’s biggest selling bands. From Comalies (2002) and Karmacode (2004) to Shallow Life (2009) and Broken Crown Halo (2014), the high-flying Italian act demonstrated an uncanny ability to pull in rock, gothic, and metal audiences. The band’s spirited and lauded live performances have also earned them a solid reputation for a band that not only delivers night in/night out, but also a band whose stage performance reverberates long after the show is over. Indeed, Lacuna Coil’s heartfelt, heavy, melodic, and rhythmic metal—a hybrid of gothic, groove, and alternative—has created a rabid worldwide following. Whether it’s “Our Truth” and “Delirium” or “Nothing Stands in Our Way” and “Trip the Darkness,” Lacuna Coil’s dual-vocalist assault is immediately identifiable.
7. Skullcrusher - Quiet the Room (Tarrytown, NY)
Genre: Indie / Folk Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1GUaQ6GpaxFPKZ0SCSsnwD?si=fOSAvUW6RAifuFMPBl47SA
Helen Ballentine’s spellbinding first full-length album Quiet the Room is the sound of a window opening, a barrier dissolving. Across these fourteen tracks, the outside world seeps in and the inside world crawls out. The result is a stunning and quietly moving work that reflects the journeys we take through the physical and spiritual realms of ourselves in order to show up for the world. While writing the album in the summer of 2021, Ballentine drew inspiration from her childhood home in Mount Vernon, NY. What she set out to capture on Quiet the Room was not the innocence of childhood, as it is so often portrayed, but the intense complexity of it. Past and present merge Escher-like in this dreamlike space laced with elements of fantasy, magic, and mystery. Musically, this translates into a sound that feels somehow weighty and ephemeral all at once, like a time lapse of copper corroding.
As the album cover invites, these are dollhouse songs to which we bend a giant eye, peering into the laminate, luminous world that Ballentine has created. Like a kid constructing a shelter in a patch of sharp brambles, she reminds us that beauty and terror can exist in the same place. The complexities of childhood are so often overlooked, but through these private yet generous songs, she gives new weight to our earliest memories, widening the frame for us—even opening a window.
8. Birds In Row - Gris Klein (Laval, France)
Genre: Chaotic Hardcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2H5x6tCSjQ4N5Lh7pRrTNo?si=oo7NpegxQESV4cZY8O7vVQ
BIRDS IN ROW’s trio have been at the forefront of their genre for a decade. Their first album– 2012’s You, Me & the Violence – rocketed them from Laval-based unknowns to the world’s stage. Its rallying chords and venomous vocals were all classic hardcore, reinvigorated for a new generation, yet songs like Lovers Have Their Say totally flipped the script. 13 minutes, sinister and droning, it showed that Birds in Row will never kowtow to the rules. If that debut sparked listeners’ imaginations, then 2018 follow-up We Already Lost the World was an unyielding inferno of brazen ideas. Metal Hammer UK called it “intelligent, poignant art,” writing that “this downward spiral changes pace and weight at every turn.” It screamed for mutual respect in a world of increasingly extreme political divides, and used the vehicles of punk, post-hardcore and post-metal to carry its cries. After their last EU tour, supporting ALCEST in Feb/March 2020, the band entered into a long period of composition. They are now ready to get back on stage with a brand new live show and will travel Europe as headliner but also supporting CULT OF LUNA for 15 shows.
9. We Came As Romans - Darkbloom (Troy, Michigan)
Genre: Metalcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qO6LhD6FuXK5e2PtfAIMz?si=G7Y2KU3WT-iEyKUYY3rblQ
Brotherhood lasts forever. No matter what happens, those bonds endure in memories and moments. We Came As Romans hold a similar link between them. After nearly 15 years together, countless sold out shows, critical acclaim, and over 250 million streams, the Michigan quintet—Joshua Moore [guitar], Dave Stephens [vocals], Lou Cotton [guitar], Andy Glass [bass], and David Puckett [drums]—weather their darkest time and emerge stronger in the name of a fallen brother and member: Kyle Pavone.
The group soldier ahead with a sixth full-length opus befitting of his memory.
After Kyle’s death in 2018, they made a careful decision to push forward, returning to the road with Bullet For My Valentine before gathering themselves in the studio with longtime collaborator Nick Sampson [Asking Alexandria, Born Of Osiris] and seeking perspective from Drew Fulk [Motionless In White, Lil Peep].
We Came As Romans introduce this next chapter with a pair of singles, “Carry The Weight” and “From The First Note.” Evocative clean guitar echoes at the beginning of “Carry The Weight” before giving way to a hammering groove and cathartic screams that culminate on a hypnotic chant—one of the band’s most irresistible.
Meanwhile, “From The First Note” hinges on thick guitars as it delivers a fast and furious elegy. Steamrolling forward on a punk gallop, the chorus rings out, “I can’t replace you.”
In the end, the brotherhood between We Came As Romans lives on.
10. Varials - Scars for You to Remember (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre: Hardcore/ Hard Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6EFV3PmaXblKwNbvpkGv9l?si=R5_hJwbfTSigEBGc6Sxj5g
Balance occurs in the midst of extremes. Varials seamlessly alternate between moments of crushing power and melodic poise, unlocking harmony in the middle of opposite poles. The Philadelphia quintet—Mitchell Rogers [vocals], Mike Foley [bass], James Hohenwarter [guitar], Shane Lyons [guitar],and Sean Rauchut [drums]—continue to sharpen this signature style with searing intensity, uncontainable energy, and uncompromising creativity. They’ve carefully cultivated this sound over the years. The guys attracted a devout fanbase with Pain Again [2017] and In Darkness [2019]. The latter yielded “Romance,” which amassed 3 million Spotify streams and counting. Of the title track, Decibel raved, “Varials have their own modern spin on hybridizing metal and hardcore into a powerful new amalgam.” Meanwhile, they hit the road with the likes of All That Remains, Wage War, Oceans Ate Alaska, Kublai Khan, and more. During 2021, Mitchell assumed full vocal duties for the band. After amassing tens of millions of streams and earning acclaim from Decibel, Revolver, and Alternative Press to name a few, the band deliver controlled chaos like never before on their third full-length album for Fearless Records Scars For You To Remember.
11. Ways Away - Torch Songs (Los Angeles, California)
Genre: Alternative Rock/ Punk Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/03qeBQwnTfKExVLq8dX000?si=7mALvQMYQyyTenU7AvfNtw
Vocalist Jesse Barnett (Stick to Your Guns) teamed up with Sergie Loobkoff (Samiam/Knapsack), drummer Jared Shavelson (BoySetsFire/Paint it Black) and Ian Smith (Racquet Club) in early 2019 for some melodic post hardcore. 10-song self-titled album produced by Beau Burchell out Now on Other People Records. Currently working on follow up album with producer Brad Wood.
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As part of our mission to inspire the local art community, we created the Artist Endorsement Project. With this project, we work closely with artists of all types to create a customized endorsement package that meets the needs of our most valued clients.
1. Acid Witch - Rot Among Us (Detroit, Michigan)
Genre: Doom Metal Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2oSfMWbje3XOK5QvxljrdB?si=RkUsPW1hS1C4iLqjuhrVKQ
Horror Doom Metal from Detroit, MI.
2. Mercy Necromancy - Infirmary 13 (California)
Genre: Indie / Singer-Songwriter Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0LdEFRiFrm1kVJhGgAqL8d?si=TkZBwsc1SiiU2A1WLJJBiw
FFO: Nicole Dollanganger
3. Pit Viper - Voidweaver (Croatia)
Genre: Technical Death Metal Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/50qfUBv9EGaF9VEjE9fqwC?si=VvRw29L8SO-EOlzxWkFiMg
Pit Viper is a Technical Death Metal band from Croatia formed in 2017. Influenced by a wide range of musicians, including virtuoso guitar players and tech-death bands. Our aim is to create epic metal music which combines both melody and technicality. Influences: Obscura, Archspire, Necrophagist, Death, Suffocation, Opeth, Jason Becker, Guthrie Govan, Marty Friedman, Al Di Meola, John Petrucci, and Paul Gilbert.
4. Origami Angel - DEPART (Washington D.C.)
Genre: Mathcore / Hardcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0cmSXx965Hnm6fP42oW6vY?si=Pa8duR1wQlOfSmzu-g1qEQ
You weren’t ready for another surprise EP from Origami Angel, were you? On Friday, the cult-beloved emo duo came back with the surprise release re: turn, which was prettier and more acoustic-based than most of the band’s previous music. Today, they’ve followed that EP with another one called Depart — or, if you prefer, DEPART. This time around, Origami Angel are moving in a massively different direction. They’re going full hardcore. Origami Angel members Ryland Heagy and Pat Doherty grew up around the hardcore scenes in Philadelphia and Washington, so this new EP is a back-to-the-roots move for them. Depart is a pure pastiche, but it’s a pastiche made by people who clearly love and respect the genre that they’re attempting. The three songs on Depart are all less than two minutes apiece. They’ve got chunky, metallic riffs and big screams and breakdowns and lyrics about how you should keep their name out of your mouth. It’s not the best hardcore EP that you’ll hear this year — these guys didn’t suddenly turn into End It — but it’s a fine take on the genre. Nobody’s getting embarrassed here. - TOM BREIHAN at Stereogum
5. Disembodied Tyrant - The Divine Stigmata
Genre: Slamming Deathcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Mik5bw5uqwmpwjvc5PGYk?si=KAxSO0-5QRuEpdQ_sA6F7g
International band consisting of two people. Donovan (Vocals) & HVLFERN (Instrumentalist, Sound engineer, Video Editor)
6. Alvvays - Blue Rev (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Genre: Indie Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3kzwYV3OCB010YfXMF0Avt?si=55rRaKHpQ-G5naNjgXhEeQ
Alvvays never intended to take five years to finish their third album, the nervy joyride that is the compulsively lovable Blue Rev. In fact, the band began writing and cutting its first bits soon after releasing 2017’s Antisocialites, that stunning sophomore record that confirmed the Toronto quintet’s status atop a new generation of winning and whip-smart indie rock. Global lockdowns notwithstanding, circumstances both ordinary and entirely unpredictable stunted those sessions. Alvvays toured more than expected, a surefire interruption for a band that doesn’t write on the road. A watchful thief then broke into singer Molly Rankin’s apartment and swiped a recorder full of demos, one day before a basement flood nearly ruined all the band’s gear. They subsequently lost a rhythm section and, due to border closures, couldn’t rehearse for months with their masterful new one, drummer Sheridan Riley and bassist Abbey Blackwell. At least the five-year wait was worthwhile: Blue Rev doesn’t simply reassert what’s always been great about Alvvays but instead reimagines it. They have, in part and sum, never been better. There are 14 songs on Blue Rev, making it not only the longest Alvvays album but also the most harmonically rich and lyrically provocative. There are newly aggressive moments here—the gleeful and snarling guitar solo at the heart of opener “Pharmacist,” or the explosive cacophony near the middle of “Many Mirrors.” And there are some purely beautiful spans, too—the church- organ fantasia of “Fourth Figure,” or the blue-skies bridge of “Belinda Says.” But the power and magic of Blue Rev stems from Alvvays’ ability to bridge ostensible binaries, to fuse elements that seem antithetical in single songs—cynicism and empathy, anger and play, clatter and melody, the soft and the steely. The luminous poser kiss-off of “Velveteen,” the lovelorn confusion of “Tile by Tile,” the panicked but somehow reassuring rush of “After the Earthquake”. The songs of Blue Rev thrive on immediacy and intricacy, so good on first listen that the subsequent spins where you hear all the details are an inevitability. This perfectly dovetailed sound stems from an unorthodox—and, for Alvvays, wholly surprising—recording process, unlike anything they’ve ever done. Alvvays are fans of fastidious demos, making maps of new tunes so complete they might as well have topographical contour lines. But in October 2021, when they arrived at a Los Angeles studio with fellow Canadian Shawn Everett, he urged them to forget the careful planning they’d done and just play the stuff, straight to tape. On the second day, they ripped through Blue Rev front-to-back twice, pausing only 15 seconds between songs and only 30 minutes between full album takes. And then, as Everett has done on recent albums by The War on Drugs and Kacey Musgraves, he spent an obsessive amount of time alongside Alvvays filling in the cracks, roughing up the surfaces, and mixing the results. This hybridized approach allowed the band to harness each song’s absolute core, then grace it with texture and depth. Notice the way, for instance, that “Tom Verlaine” bursts into a jittery jangle; then marvel at the drums and drum machines ricocheting off one another, the harmonies that crisscross, and the stacks of guitar that rise between riff and hiss, subtle but essential layers that reveal themselves in time. Every element of Alvvays leveled up in the long interim between albums: Riley is a classic dynamo of a drummer, with the power of a rock deity and the finesse of a jazz pedigree. Their roommate, in-demand bassist Blackwell, finds the center of a song and entrenches it. Keyboardist Kerri MacLellan joined Rankin and guitarist Alec O’Hanley to write more this time, reinforcing the band’s collective quest to break patterns heard on their first two albums. The results are beyond question: Blue Rev has more twists and surprises than Alvvays’ cumulative past, and the band seems to revel in these taken chances. This record is fun and often funny, from the hilarious reply-guy bash of “Very Online Guy” to the parodic grind of “Pomeranian Spinster.” Alvvays’ self-titled debut, released when much of the band was still in its early 20s, offered speculation about a distant future—marriage, professionalism, interplanetary citizenship. Antisocialites wrestled with the woes of the now, especially the anxieties of inching toward adulthood. Named for the sugary alcoholic beverage Rankin and MacLellan used to drink as teens on rural Cape Breton, Blue Rev looks both back at that country past and forward at an uncertain world, reckoning with what we lose whenever we make a choice about what we want to become. The spinster with her Pomeranians or Belinda with her babies? The kid fleeing Bristol by train or the loyalist stunned to see old friends return? “How do I gauge whether this is stasis or change?” Rankin sings during the first verse of the plangent and infectious “Easy on Your Own?” In that moment, she pulls the ties tight between past, present, and future to ask hard questions about who we’re going to become, and how. Sure, it arrives a few years later than expected, but the answer for Alvvays is actually simple: They’ve changed gradually, growing on Blue Rev into one of their generation’s most complete and riveting rock bands.
7. Surf Curse - Magic Hour (Reno, Nevada)
Genre: Indie-Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1gl0S9pS0Zw0qfa14rDD3D?si=96iCv2h7TsOW54w6gT_QEw
Drummer/vocalist Nick Rattigan and guitarist/vocalist Jacob Rubeck first met at the age of 13 in a Las Vegas middle school, making their inauspicious start as Buffalo 66. As to be expected from a couple of kids who name their first band after a Vincent Gallo film, they didn’t find many peers growing up. Inspired by a Brady Bunch episode and the beachy, lo-fi rock that was then sweeping indie culture, the duo eventually changed their name to Surf Curse after moving to Reno, where Rattigan attended college at the University of Nevada and Rubeck washed dishes in senior citizen facilities. Traveling back and forth to LA for gigs, the band built their reputation on hooky songs that lived by the adage of “write what you know” — heartbreak, disillusionment and movies. Over the next decade, Rattigan and Rubeck expanded their artistic reach — Rattigan’s long-running Current Joys project released Voyager on indie rock powerhouse Secretly Canadian earlier this year, while Rubeck has explored his muse in Gap Girls and Casino Hearts.
8. Counterparts - A Eulogy for Those Still Here (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)
Genre: Metalcore/Post-Hardcore Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5LyRnL0rysObxDRxzSfV1z?si=NmCVns7QTLqILHzJ0qC5cg
There’s an anxiety in life that comes from knowing there isn’t anything to do but try to prepare for the inevitability of change. And sometimes the only thing that can make a drastic shift or an ending more difficult is to see it coming. On their seventh full-length, A Eulogy For Those Still Here, Counterparts set out to capture that surreal space in-between, and in the process pushed their sound to its greatest extremes to make their most definitive statement as a band. “I think I deal with things by preparing myself for the end,” explains vocalist Brendan Murphy. “With so much of this record I’m mourning the loss of someone that’s still alive or saying goodbye to something that hasn’t left yet.” Murphy’s preoccupation with endings reaches wide, from relationships dissolving, to friendships fading, to loved ones passing away–and even to his band. Since forming in 2007, Counterparts–made up of Murphy, guitarists Alex Re and Jesse Doreen, bassist Tyler Williams, and drummer Kyle Brownlee–have gone from the Hamilton, Ontario, underground to touring the world as hardcore heavyweights. The band convened at Graphic Nature Audio with their longtime producer/engineer, Will Putney (Knocked Loose, Every Time I Die). In addition to Putney’s reliable hand at the helm, the album sees the return of Doreen and Re. The result feels like Counterparts have honed every element of their sound into its sharpest point, resulting in 11 of their most viscerally compelling songs to date.
9. Sunsleeper - While You Can (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Genre: Alternative / Indie /Rock Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3KHHh4WVfyUa9ZwE63jdir?si=JplRr26cRUSR7BK3yWQpyA
Sunsleeper was halfway through the touring cycle for their debut album when the pandemic halted live music. For the Salt Lake City indie rockers, that pause allowed them to reframe what their journey as musicians and people inspires them to create and say. After forming in 2016 and briskly realizing their Nathan Hussey-produced debut EP Stay the Same, the band entered the studio for their debut album, inking a deal with Rude Records. You Can Miss Something and Not Want it Back dropped in summer 2019, with the band celebrating with runs featuring their collaborators and friends in All Get Out, an Audiotree live session, and most recently, a run with TWIABP and Bent Knee in fall 2021. While the pandemic still rages on in uncertain terms, Sunsleeper found themselves more solidified than ever writing their sophomore LP, with their road-tested lineup collaborating cohesively and with united goals. The band even found time to use the pandemic’s themes to rework Mac Miller’s “Come Back to Earth,” highlighting the track’s balance of self-reflection and hopelessness. (Sunsleeper on this recording is vocalist/guitarist Jeffery Mudgett, guitarist Matt Mascarenas, guitarist Cody Capener, bassist Jacob Lara, and drummer Scott Schilling.)
10. Jivebomb - Primitive Desires (Baltimore, Maryland)
Genre: Hardcore / Punk Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6C3q8wGXgz5KKWv5GqWkvV?si=zJziBxAnSDq6Ts0aIB4Dpw
Formed through friendship and a love for hardcore, Baltimore’s Jivebomb are blasting out music that is fun and enticing. The band self-released their demo, JVBM, in Fall 2021, which caught the attention of Flatspot Records, who Jivebomb are teaming up with for their upcoming debut EP, Primitive Desires. The five songs on the EP pack as much punch on the record as they would at a sweaty live show. The band recorded the EP with producer Matt Redenbo at J. Robbins’ Magpie Cage studio and it was mixed and mastered by Jon Markson (Drug Church, Regulate, Soul Blind). On Primitive Desires, vocalist Kat delivers with ferocity over groove-laden guitars and bouncy mosh parts, reminiscent of bands like Negative Approach and The Rival Mob. Despite only being a band for a short time, they’ve been able to share the stage with some heavy-hitters, from old-school bands like Slapshot to other upcoming acts like Restraining Order and GAG. Keeping things short, fast, and catchy, it’s only a matter of time before Jivebomb stakes their claim as an essential hardcore band.
Want to be featured on a blog post?
As part of our mission to inspire the local art community, we created the Artist Endorsement Project. With this project, we work closely with artists of all types to create a customized endorsement package that meets the needs of our most valued clients.
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