From the hard-hitting truthfulness of Fit For A King to the existential exploration of Movements, there is a lot of new music worth spinning this week.
The third week of September is known for kickstarting the fall music avalanche that will stretch through the end of October. If concerts were still a thing, many tours would be kicking off as well. We miss live music as much as the next person, but these new releases will keep us going while times are tough.
Fit For A King – The Path (Solid State)
Six albums into a career built from nothing, metalcore greats Fit For A King break new ground on The Path.
The metal world doesn’t deserve Fit For A King. In an age where seemingly every band is a variation of another band playing repetitive songs touching on the same topics everyone else discusses, FFAK strives to subvert expectations. The Texas-born band has fought through the genre ranks to establish themselves as the exception to every rule. The members write songs that speak to their journeys, and their transparency has birthed a devoted global following that sees themselves as the FFAK’s success as the group’s fifth member. The Path, the band’s sixth album in less than a decade, continues to build and tighten the bonds of their community with new sounds and unabashed honesty.
Knuckle Puck – 20/20 (Rise Records)
For the last decade, Knuckle Puck has built their career on anthems for self-aware young people who long to make their lives resemble works of fiction even though they know such a lifestyle is impossible to achieve. Their songs touch on the hallmarks of youth, such as falling in love and the nagging feeling you’ll never be good enough but always through an intelligent lens that separated them from their peers. That tried and true blueprint for genre success is one that they could easily ride into the grave, but 20/20 finds the Chicago quintet choosing another, more unpredictable path.
A timely title that largely ignores the infernos raging all around us, 20/20 is a collection of songs fiercely focused on keeping listeners in the present. To borrow from Ram Dass, Knuckle Puck wants their fans to ‘be here now’ and accept themselves as wonderfully unique beings. The record doesn’t shy away from the themes of past releases, but it does offer a different perspective, one that speaks to the fact that change is both inevitable and, ultimately, beneficial.
Movements – No Good Left To Give (Fearless Records)
Movements is the perfect band to soundtrack your fall. No Good Left To Give is the musical equivalent to the changing of the seasons, guiding listeners on a not-so-subtle transition between who they are and who they are becoming. It’s a lush, sprawling series of stories covering the limitless nature of human emotion, from the highs of new love and unbridled joy to the isolation of loneliness and self-doubt. No Good Left To Give is as much about our relationships with one another as it is our relationship with our inner self. Movements’ ability to make these tough topics enjoyable is the skill that sets them apart, and their latest release offers evidence that they won’t be going anywhere other than up for a long time.
American Authors – Counting Down EP
If their 2019 album Seasons proved anything at all, the world is still getting to know the band American Authors. The pop-rock superstars can write a song that sticks in your brain like gum to a shoe, but they’re now doing so while searching for an inner truth. The songs on Counting Down serve as a culmination of everything the band has done to date, and it teases where they still hope to explore. It’s a fun, insightful release that dares us to spend less time caring about how others see us and more time working towards the things we want. The band that wrote “The Best Day Of My Life” over half a decade ago needs us to know that day has yet to come, and they’re urging us to do more with the limited time we have by learning to appreciate this crazy thing called life.
