I'm on a roll! (No jinxing!) EPISODE 69 is now available! Listen to it HERE or download it HERE
It is also available on iTunes.
I forgot Record Store Day was this weekend. I didn't pick up a damn thing. Aside from sales, every day is record store day! I wish...Any good pick ups out there? I saw a couple cool postings on 'gram.
For today's episode, I reach the end of my Top 25 list and play tracks from the Top 10 portion of the list. Last year showcased a whole bunch of amazing debuts. A lot of them instant favorites, and quite a few of which were a long time coming. And a couple of them were great follow-ups to previous awesome albums. Last year definitely was a great year in music. And this year looks equally promising.
Opening this show is Brooklyn's own, Safety, who released the EP, Congratulate Me, I've Lost My Mind, which was released through Community Records. The comes after the band's 2012, Night Lights, also released through Community Records. It's a great EP, 5 tracks total. It has a big sound, with lots of great punk-pop and familiarity. Safety's BANDCAMP.
Following Safety is a track called Disparity from Svalbard, a four-piece from the UK. They released their debut full-length, One Day All This Will End, through Holy Roar Records. It's an amazing mix of punk, metal and hardcore. A bit of ambiance hovers over each track, intentional or not, but it sounds pretty amazing. The guitar harmonies are lovely, and almost a bit relaxing. It does slow for a little, on the last track, Lily, but it keeps a consistency of heavy sounds throughout. It's what I love most about this album. What an excellent debut. Svalbard's BANDCAMP.
Another great debut, from Syracus, New York's, Bleak, is titled, We Deserve Our Failures. It is 7 tracks of pure chaos, from start to finish. Violent sounding and heavy, and it stays that way until the closer, Eternal Silent Darkness. The sound ventures outward into some sludge doom metal, and layers of creepiness. The good stuff. Stream the album on Hex Record's BANDCAMP. Bleak's BANDCAMP.
The Doped Up Dollies launched a Kickstarter campaign in February 2015 and made their goal and more in the 2nd half of March. They recorded the album and even made a music video for the track, Me, Fireman & Lion (watch it HERE). Later, they finally released the album, The New Way Out, through Strictly Rude Records. It's a mix of Stroll, Hopscotch, Ska, and Reggae. Very upbeat, with both slow grooves and jumpy tracks. I first heard of the Dollies on the opening track of Fluent in Stroll by Big D and the Kids Table, and later again on Stroll when both Stomp and Stroll were released as two separate albums (also funded through a Kickstarter campaign). The album also features some familiar artists on select tracks including Maddie Ruthless and Dave McWane. The track I play on the episode, Be Free, features Coolie Ranx. The Doped Up Dollies on FACEBOOK.
It's been a while since the Kumbskulls released new material, the last being Positive Mechanism in 2001. They've grown a lot musically since then, updating and revising a lot of their old material. I was able to catch a show of theirs during a Once a Month Punk event and noticed some of those new changes in a few select tracks. They played with the same high energy and it was exciting to hear these songs I grew up listening to years later. Their new album, Untold Classics explored a lot of their previous songs and turned them into something entirely new. It's hard to believe a few of these songs were once punk rock anthems and now a couple of them turned into acoustic tracks and big sounding rock jams. It's a refreshing take on these songs of yesterday. The Knumbskulls' FACEBOOK.
Several EPs and a couple singles later, Survival Guide finally releases a proper full-length, Way to Go, through Side With Us Records. Fronted by Emilly Whitehurst, Survival Guide had all ready performed a lot of the new material at shows before the release of the album, so I was familiar with a couple of tracks (I heard them on YouTube). Several of the tracks too appeared on previous EPs (Prohibition appeared on WildCat, but still easily one of the best songs on the album). The album is a really nice blend of electronica and pop, each track more wonderful then the next. And always, pristine vocal work by Whitehurst. Survival Guide's BANDCAMP.
So my favorite album of 2015 goes to Senses Fail's, Pull the Thorns from your Heart. It really is a banger of a record, and easily the best material by the band so far. But it is almost a different band, consisting of entirely new members, and the only original one remaining being singer, Buddy Nielsen. The music is explosive, very heavy and aggressive, and powerful. It's a good direction, musically, I feel, and I hope the band keeps moving forward this way. I've been listening to them for a long time and have yet to see them live. Check out the record, it's that good. Senses Fail's TWITTER.
All right that is it! Hope you enjoyed these past few episodes. It was nice to reflect back on these releases. These albums are still fresh and wonderful. I hope you found something new. Maybe a new favorite? YES!
Now back to the regularly scheduled program. And TAXES! oh geez.
Please check back sometime for the next new episode. It'll be a good one. And as always, thanks for listening.
It is also available on iTunes.
I forgot Record Store Day was this weekend. I didn't pick up a damn thing. Aside from sales, every day is record store day! I wish...Any good pick ups out there? I saw a couple cool postings on 'gram.
For today's episode, I reach the end of my Top 25 list and play tracks from the Top 10 portion of the list. Last year showcased a whole bunch of amazing debuts. A lot of them instant favorites, and quite a few of which were a long time coming. And a couple of them were great follow-ups to previous awesome albums. Last year definitely was a great year in music. And this year looks equally promising.
Opening this show is Brooklyn's own, Safety, who released the EP, Congratulate Me, I've Lost My Mind, which was released through Community Records. The comes after the band's 2012, Night Lights, also released through Community Records. It's a great EP, 5 tracks total. It has a big sound, with lots of great punk-pop and familiarity. Safety's BANDCAMP.
Following Safety is a track called Disparity from Svalbard, a four-piece from the UK. They released their debut full-length, One Day All This Will End, through Holy Roar Records. It's an amazing mix of punk, metal and hardcore. A bit of ambiance hovers over each track, intentional or not, but it sounds pretty amazing. The guitar harmonies are lovely, and almost a bit relaxing. It does slow for a little, on the last track, Lily, but it keeps a consistency of heavy sounds throughout. It's what I love most about this album. What an excellent debut. Svalbard's BANDCAMP.
Another great debut, from Syracus, New York's, Bleak, is titled, We Deserve Our Failures. It is 7 tracks of pure chaos, from start to finish. Violent sounding and heavy, and it stays that way until the closer, Eternal Silent Darkness. The sound ventures outward into some sludge doom metal, and layers of creepiness. The good stuff. Stream the album on Hex Record's BANDCAMP. Bleak's BANDCAMP.
The Doped Up Dollies launched a Kickstarter campaign in February 2015 and made their goal and more in the 2nd half of March. They recorded the album and even made a music video for the track, Me, Fireman & Lion (watch it HERE). Later, they finally released the album, The New Way Out, through Strictly Rude Records. It's a mix of Stroll, Hopscotch, Ska, and Reggae. Very upbeat, with both slow grooves and jumpy tracks. I first heard of the Dollies on the opening track of Fluent in Stroll by Big D and the Kids Table, and later again on Stroll when both Stomp and Stroll were released as two separate albums (also funded through a Kickstarter campaign). The album also features some familiar artists on select tracks including Maddie Ruthless and Dave McWane. The track I play on the episode, Be Free, features Coolie Ranx. The Doped Up Dollies on FACEBOOK.
It's been a while since the Kumbskulls released new material, the last being Positive Mechanism in 2001. They've grown a lot musically since then, updating and revising a lot of their old material. I was able to catch a show of theirs during a Once a Month Punk event and noticed some of those new changes in a few select tracks. They played with the same high energy and it was exciting to hear these songs I grew up listening to years later. Their new album, Untold Classics explored a lot of their previous songs and turned them into something entirely new. It's hard to believe a few of these songs were once punk rock anthems and now a couple of them turned into acoustic tracks and big sounding rock jams. It's a refreshing take on these songs of yesterday. The Knumbskulls' FACEBOOK.
Several EPs and a couple singles later, Survival Guide finally releases a proper full-length, Way to Go, through Side With Us Records. Fronted by Emilly Whitehurst, Survival Guide had all ready performed a lot of the new material at shows before the release of the album, so I was familiar with a couple of tracks (I heard them on YouTube). Several of the tracks too appeared on previous EPs (Prohibition appeared on WildCat, but still easily one of the best songs on the album). The album is a really nice blend of electronica and pop, each track more wonderful then the next. And always, pristine vocal work by Whitehurst. Survival Guide's BANDCAMP.
So my favorite album of 2015 goes to Senses Fail's, Pull the Thorns from your Heart. It really is a banger of a record, and easily the best material by the band so far. But it is almost a different band, consisting of entirely new members, and the only original one remaining being singer, Buddy Nielsen. The music is explosive, very heavy and aggressive, and powerful. It's a good direction, musically, I feel, and I hope the band keeps moving forward this way. I've been listening to them for a long time and have yet to see them live. Check out the record, it's that good. Senses Fail's TWITTER.
All right that is it! Hope you enjoyed these past few episodes. It was nice to reflect back on these releases. These albums are still fresh and wonderful. I hope you found something new. Maybe a new favorite? YES!
Now back to the regularly scheduled program. And TAXES! oh geez.
Please check back sometime for the next new episode. It'll be a good one. And as always, thanks for listening.
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