Whether you’re looking for breakdowns of the musical or emotional variety, these new music picks have something for you.
Life will probably never be the same as it was before the COVID pandemic took the world by storm. Mourning the loss of the world we knew is normal, but it’s important to recognize all the good that continues to exist. Each new week brings us music that has the potential to change countless lives, and this week’s batch of new releases is no exception. There are too many good records for us to mention, but here are four we believe everyone should experience.
Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown – Pressure (Snakefarm/Spinefarm)
Tyler Bryant has nothing left to prove. After a decade of constant touring and recording, the rock meets blues talent has built a fervent following that any artist would desire. His marketing talents are only outmatched by his musical output, which has been consistently inspiring. Pressure finds a perfect balance between old school aesthetics and a modern outlook that understands our collective yearning for freedom. It’s a fitting soundtrack for quarantine, combining the frustrations of the year with inspiring anthems that will make you want to drive fast and break laws. We wouldn’t blame you for getting into trouble while this plays, but please, don’t blame us for whatever happens next.
Mayday Parade – Out of Here EP (Rise Records)
Emo icons Mayday Parade refuses to rely on the successful output of their past to define the people that they are today. No one would blame the Florida-based rockers for becoming a modern legacy act, touring into irrelevance with greatest hits sets, but the band continues to push forward. As the title infers, Out Of Here plays like the blueprint to an escape plan that listeners will hatch as the EP unfolds. We expect every song on this release to appear in the band’s 2021 setlist, so you better start learning the words now.
Molasses – Through The Hollow (Season of Mist)
Through The Hollow is a constant reminder that the search for artistic greatness is never-ending. The first full-length release from a group of industry veterans, the record revels in the journey that is creativity. The record is both haunting and enchanting, pulling listeners into a world wherever anything is possible, and everything is on the table. It’s the kind of immersive listening experience that all artists strive to deliver, and we imagine anyone who partakes will have a hard time walking away. Through The Hollow will stick with you like muscles to bone.
Lost Symphony – Chapter II (XOFF Records)
Every corner of music has reached a saturation point where virtually any new artist falls in line with someone or more than one talent that came before them. Finding something boldly original is the dream of any genre fan, and the answer for hard rock fans lies in Lost Symphony. A supergroup of sorts, the band combines metal and classical music styles to create a wholly original sound. It’s symphonic, yes, but it’s also far more commercial than any group typically carrying that title. When listeners put on the band’s latest work, Chapter II, they embark on a sonic odyssey they won’t want to quit.
Chapter II is an essential record. Not for metal fans, but everyone. Don’t think twice. Dive in and let Lost Symphony carry you far away from the hellscape that is 2020.
Discover even more new music from Haulix clients by streaming our essential fall playlist on Spotify.
Boasting a bevy of new music from rising musicians and the latest greatest hits compilation from a modern rock juggernaut, October 9 is a big day for music fans everywhere.
Life will probably never be the same as it was before the COVID pandemic took the world by storm. Mourning the loss of the world we knew is normal, but it’s important to recognize all the good that continues to exist. Each new week brings us music that has the potential to change countless lives, and this week’s batch of new releases is no exception. There are too many good records for us to mention, but here are five we believe everyone should experience.
Bloodbather – Silence EP (Rise Records)
The world needs more bands like Bloodbather. The Florida metal act blurs the lines between chaos and methodical precision with their Rise Records debut EP, Silence. The album boasts unpredictable turns that the majority of rock music is missing, and in doing so, the album creates a listening experience that will keep listeners of all ages on their toes. We don’t know how the group managed to convey so much intensity over so few tracks, but we’re glad they did, and we are already champing at the bit to hear more. Silence is, without a doubt, one of the best breakout releases of 2020.
Eye of the Destroyer – The Wolf You Feed (Self Released)
Eye of the Destroyer is one of the worst kept secrets in heavy music. The duo’s crushing sound has turned heads worldwide, but the forward-thinking band has resisted the urge to join the traditional label system. Their passion for their craft, coupled with a need to work through personal demons, gave life to The Wolf You Feed. It’s a cathartic record that brings healing in the form of relentless sonic aggression. There is nothing like it, and there never will be, so strap in and let Eye Of The Destroyer rock your world.
Lindsay Schoolcraft – Worlds Away (Cyber Proxy)
COVID-19 has stunted the creativity of countless artists, but not Lindsay Schoolcraft. A staple of the gothic metal community for many years, Schoolcraft is channeling her roots on her enchanting solo record, Worlds Away. Accompanied by her electric harp and minimalist production, Schoolcraft takes listeners on an epic journey of the soul. She touches on love and loss, as well as the sacrifices that life in the arts can demand. It’s a record that seems as therapeutic for Schoolcraft as it is for listeners, so grab your friends, light some candles, and have yourself a cry. Things might not get better, but at least we have each other.
Pave The Jungle – The Hissing (Self Release)
The Hissing is the debut EP from UK rock band Pave The Jungle, but you wouldn’t know that by listening to it. The record, which borrows from indie rock and punk with gleeful abandon, sounds like the result of a career already years underway. The songs seek to find understanding in an age of division by examining the minutia of existence. It’s not about world peace or getting everyone to believe the same thing, but of accepting ourselves and relinquishing our evolutionary desire for control. Life is chaos, and The Hissing makes a good argument for embracing the wild ride that is being alive regardless of what tomorrow may bring.
Five Finger Death Punch – A Decade of Destruction Volume 2 (Better Noise)
You don’t need us to tell you that Five Finger Death Punch knowshow to write a good rock song. The group’s catalog is packed with anthems of strength and perseverance that have inspired millions to push themselves a bit harder in life. There is no country on the planet where FFDP is unable to fill venues, and the latest volume in their Decade Of Destruction series offers proof that the band has already cemented their place in music history. Of course, the songs are great, including the new tracks available exclusively as part of this compilation. Please turn it on and turn it up.
Discover even more new music from Haulix clients by streaming our essential fall playlist on Spotify.
Between surprise solo releases from two rock icons and an incredible new work from metal legends, the first weekend in October is great for new music.
Life will probably never be the same as it was before the COVID pandemic took the world by storm. Mourning the loss of the world we knew is normal, but it’s important to recognize all the good that continues to exist. Each new week brings us music that has the potential to change countless lives, and this week’s batch of new releases is no exception. There are too many good records for us to mention, but here are five we believe everyone should experience.
Laura Jane Grace – Stay Alive (Polyvinyl)
Punk icon and bestselling author Laura Jane Grace gave 2020 a much-needed dose of good news by surprising her fans earlier this week with Stay Alive, the singer/songwriter’s first solo album. Featuring fourteen tracks produced by Steve Albini in early July, the record perfectly depicts the swirling chaos of emotions that many have felt throughout 2020. It’s a record about wanting to be anywhere other than where you are, possibly in someone else’s skin, all while coming to terms with the ever-present need to love ourselves. It’s an album that is both aching for escape and basking in the often overlooked pleasures of being alone, which is to say, it’s a perfect summary of what most of us are dealing with right now. – JS
DevilDriver – Dealing With Demons I (Napalm Records)
Fans of DevilDriver will be happy to learn the metal legends remain at the top of their game. The aptly titled Dealing With Demons I, the first in a planned series of releases, finds Dez Fafara and crew sorting through the things that hold them back. It’s an album about recovery, trauma, and making sense of a world that often seems alien to those who inhabit it. The heaviness of the material is matched by the band’s crushing sound, which pours through your speakers and headphones with the ferocity of wild wolves on the hunt for fresh meat. Other bands in the group’s position could rest soundly with the knowledge they’ve given the world albums that listeners will spin for years to come, but DevilDriver has more to offer. They won’t stop until they drop, and that (hopefully) won’t be for a long time. – JS
Spiritbox – Holy Roller 7” (Rise Records)
Spiritbox is the best new band of this and any other year in recent memory. Formed in 2017 by husband and wife duo Courtney LaPlante and Michael Stringe, Spiritbox recently signed with Rise Records as part of a partnership between the influential label and Pale Chord. The first product of that deal is this 7”, which packages the group’s breakout single with a remix featuring Crystal Lake vocalist Ryo Kinoshita. The new track doesn’t add length to the song, but it does help make an already brutal song hit a bit harder. That should be enough fans champing at the bit for the band’s next release, which we hope arrives sooner than later. Until then, “Holy Roller” remains a strong contender for song of the year. – JS
Field Medic – Floral Prince (Run For Cover Records)
Blame it on COVID-19 or the isolation that came with it, but many artists are struggling to maintain the creativity they once felt. Kevin Patrick Sullivan may be an exception, and the proof of that lies in Field Medic’s inspiring new release, Floral Prince. Combining songs shared throughout the quarantine era through Sullivan’s Field Medic web series with previously unreleased material, the new record from the Bay Area musical chameleon does not disappoint. The energy on the material here is infectious, with each track benefitting from an undeniable sense of spontaneity. Listeners will not know what to expect from track to track, but they can bet whatever happens next will be just as exciting as what came before. Floral Prince explores love and life with a poetic wit that is destined to keep fans coming back for more. – JS
Greg Puciato – Child Soldier: Creator of God (Federal Prisoner)
The unexpected early release of Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato’s debut solo album is as surprising as the material itself. Child Soldier: Creator of God is an aggressive, experimental adventure through the celebrated musician’s mind that never disappoints. The release is only available on Bandcamp for the time being, so head over there and check it out! – JS
Discover even more new music from Haulix clients by streaming our essential fall playlist on Spotify.
Featuring career-best work from Kataklysm and Alpha Wolf, not to mention Four Stroke Baron’s cover of Post Malone, this New Music Friday is filled with records you need to hear.
Life will probably never be the same as it was before the COVID pandemic took the world by storm. Mourning the loss of the world we knew is normal, but it’s important to recognize all the good that continues to exist. Each new week brings us music that has the potential to change countless lives, and this week’s batch of new releases is no exception. There are too many good records for us to mention, but here are four we believe everyone should experience.
Alpha Wolf – A Quiet Place To Die (Sharptone Records)
A Quiet Place To Die will live rent-free in the heads and hearts of metal fans for years to come.
Alpha Wolf is part of a new breed of artists in hard rock and metal pushing forward by revisiting the heaviest parts of the past. A Quiet Place To Die combines the unabashed honesty of Slipknot’s Iowa with a sonic landscape that is only possible with modern technology. That isn’t to say the members themselves are not incredibly talented. On the contrary, their use of synth and other electronic instrumentation only helps to deepen the listening experience they present through this relentless, devastatingly brutal record. It’s perfectly orchestrated chaos that feels off the cuff, as though the band birthed each note in a singular moment of unbridled rage, and the members are now giving it to us undeserving peasants as means to keep us company as the revolution begins.
Four Stroke Baron – Monoqueen (Prosthetic Records)
2020 has given the world a bounty of rarities and covers from bands whose career was otherwise sidelined by COVID-19. Many of those releases were ultimately letdowns, offering more misses than hits, but Four Stroke Baron’s Monoqueen is an exception that every rock fan should experience. The progressive metal act uses this release to revisit critical songs from their ferocious debut, each uniquely updated for the modern era. The real highlights, however, lie in the half-dozen songs they’ve chosen to cover, from CHVRCHES hypnotic “Lungs” to Post Malone’s unruly “Broken Whiskey Glass,” Four Stroke Baron display a range with this release that everyone can appreciate. The band makes these songs their own without making them all the same. It’s a testament to their talent and boundless potential, which hopefully, we will see more of in the new year.
Kataklysm – Unconquered (Nuclear Blast)
Nearly three decades into their career, the men of Kataklysm leave it all on the record with Unconquered. The band may never reach the heights of genre adoration that some of their peers have experienced, but this release proves the group remains more creative and inventive that most artists in their field. We imagine no one can hear the thunderous sounds of “Underneath The Scars” or the pummeling intensity of “The Killshot” without feeling moved to create something special themselves. Unconquered is an album about never giving in or giving up, taking chances, and betting on yourself, even when others write you off. It is the album Kataklysm was made to create.
Nasty – Menace (Century Media)
No one understands the music Nasty as well as the members themselves. The Belgium band’s biography claims the group makes “fucked up music for a fucked up world,” that’s precisely what Menace delivers. Thirteen of the album’s fourteen tracks come in well under three minutes in length, yet each one provides a fury of fists and spit that will incite pits around the world. Forget the fact live music doesn’t currently exist because Menace will have people spin-kicking their furniture and two-stepping in public. It’s the battle cry hardcore fans need right now, combining vicious lyricism with pummeling drums and chugging guitars, and it’s delivered with pristine production from Andy Posdziech (Any Given Day).
Discover even more new music from Haulix clients by streaming our essential fall playlist on Spotify.
This is going to sound a little crazy at first, but the availability of your material online is just as important to curving piracy in 2016 as the need to actively combat the proliferation of links through DCMA Takedown Notices. That may seem counter-intuitive, as the spread of your unreleased material is typically not something you want easily available to anonymous people online, but there comes a point in every album promotion cycle where the exact opposite becomes true. Allow me to explain…
Let’s pretend for a moment that we are all in the same band. Our new album, which we have been working on for the past several months, is due out in the near future. Pre-orders have been going strong for a while now, but with a new tour starting 10 days before the album’s release we’ve decided that we will have copies of the record available for sale at every date of the run. This means that, for about a week and a half, anyone who attends a concert of ours will be able to purchase our new album early, which on paper seems like a good deal for everyone involved: Fans get music early, and we begin seeing an early return on our creative efforts.
There is a catch, however, and that is the fact that anyone with early access to our album also has the ability to leak that record online. 10 days may not seem like a long time when you step back and think about a career in music as a whole, but in the world of piracy it’s equal to a lifetime. Kanye West’s latest album The Life of Pablo, for example, leaked online before many people even knew where to find the record’s official Tidal stream. Within 24 hours more than 100,000 people had downloaded the original leak, and countless more had shared their download with family/friends. By Friday of that same week more than half a million people had illegally downloaded the record, with tens of thousands more following suit the next day.
Our band might not have the same size audience as Kanye West, but our album could suffer a similar fate if we do not take steps to curve the proliferation of illegal downloads online. The first round of defense is, of course, asking fans to wait and purchase the album. The second, and honestly – most important of all – is that we MAKE THE ALBUM AVAILABLE ONLINE.
The key to winning the battle against piracy, especially over the longterm, is taking whatever steps you can to make your music available to fans. This includes, but is not limited to: Soundcloud album stream, Spotify stream, Rdio, Pandora, and Bandcamp. As soon as a physical version of your album is available for sale you need to have a digital stream available and ready to be shared with press and fans alike. By offering a free and completely legal way to access music fans have less reason to even look for leaks, let alone download them. Why should they? Streaming is the number one way people experience music today, so if streaming is an option for your fans they won’t feel the need to engage in piracy. Everything they want is already available, it’s free as well.
A recent report showed that almost ¼ of an album’s total sales happen BEFORE the scheduled release date. Leaks can help sales, but more often than not they have the opposite effect. Streams on the other hand, can encourage consumers to purchase the album, as well as aide in promoting tours and other upcoming events. By hosting the stream yourself the power is entirely in your hands, which is something most artists rarely experience in the modern business.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell calls I See Stars vocalist Devin Oliver to discuss his band’s upcoming fifth studio album. James has been following I See Stars since the MySpace days, and he has a wealth of questions covering the band’s entire career that Devin is more than happy to field. The pair also discuss the creation of Treehouse, the way the band’s age has influenced their songwriting, and what fans can expect from their upcoming run on Van’s Warped Tour. After you listen to the show, head over to Sumerian Records’ online store and pre-order Treehouse ahead of its June 17 release.
The music featured in this episode is taken from I See Stars’ new album Treehouse, which arrives in stores later this month.
You may already know this, but Inside Music is available on iTunes. Click here to subscribe so you never miss an episode!
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
I don’t know whether it’s harder to succeed in music by leveraging the same tempos and chord progressions every major artist has used for the last half century or by finding a sound that is unique to you and pushing it out into the world, but they both have their drawbacks. On the one hand, building on the blueprints of former greats gives you the knowledge that at least part of your creation will work with audiences, but it also means you will lead a career riddled with critical comparisons to other, possibly far bigger, names for as long as you are in music. On the other hand, creating a sound from scratch requires you to convince people whatever you have developed is worth their time, and that struggle will never end. You can write the greatest song known to mankind, but unless you can convince those in radio, licensing, and major labels to give a damn your career will plateau long before those who pursue a far more traditional and commercial path to musical success.
As much as I wish my decade in music had already taught me the path aspiring songwriters should follow, that is not what has come to pass. I’ve seen knock-off make it big while creative originators exhausted their resources trying to be heard. I’ve also seen talent that feels undeniably unique make it big while bands that appear to have their image and commercial appeal down to a science struggle to get noticed. All this has taught me there is no approach that is better than the other, and maybe that is because your approach to making a name in music doesn’t matter nearly as much as how much heart goes into your music. If you can write catchy pop songs with a 120 tempo that run three-and-a-half minutes in length and carry a big dramatic punch then who am I to tell you that type of music is any less organic and true than that of an artist who only writes five-minute prog rock epics? If people are connecting to what you create, and what you create stems from something true deep inside of you, then who am I or anyone else to tell you that is not how ‘good music’ is made?
Half Hearted Hero is a five-piece rock band from New Bedford, Massachusetts. The band has billed themselves as a rock act since inception, but if you’re expecting something along the lines of Disturbed, Korn, or Five Finger Death Punch you couldn’t be further off base. The music Half Hearted Hero plays is far more influenced by the world of punk, indie, and pop, but again I don’t know that I would claim any of these genres really explain the type of music the band creates. Like many New England groups, Half Hearted Hero have a clearly defined narrative running through their music that mirrors their experiences as people. With each release the band has showcased their growth both as humans and artists through the music they create, and in doing so have attracted throngs of listeners around the globe who hang on every note hoping to hear what happens next. It’s not all that unlike a great TV series or movie franchise in that each new installment is different, yet ultimately connected to everything that came before its release, as well as everything that will come after. When you hear Half Hearted Hero you’re hearing a moment in time, captured and preserved with audacious creativity, and you want to live in that moment for as long as possible.
With their new album,Isn’t Real, Half Hearted Hero are continuing the narrative found on their previous released a brash an unflinching sense of honesty that is palpable in every note played and every word sung. The material included on Isn’t Real tells of aspirations for success, uncertainty over the future, and the balancing acts between relationships and dreams that any creative mind grapples with on a near-constant basis. None of these concepts are necessarily new, but the way they’re presented on the record is undeniably unique, and that results largely from Half Hearted Hero embracing their collective perspective on existence without any sense of worry over how the world might react. This is the band at their most honest and, as a result, their absolute best. You never doubt that what is pouring through your speakers or headphones is exactly the thoughts and ideas the band hoped to convey, and you love them all the more for allowing you a little more time in their musical universe.
When I first played Isn’t Real earlier this month I was immediately overcome by the realization that Half Hearted Hero had been able to accomplish something with a single album that my past decade of writing had been unable to achieve. In under an hour, the members of Half Hearted Hero presented the world as they see it and invited me to explore it with them, complete with ups and downs, emotional car wrecks and uplifting moments of self-realization. For a short amount of time, which I then repeated dozens of times in the days that immediately followed, I was disconnected from my own reality and fully engaged in that of the members of Half Hearted Hero. I wanted to live there, and as a result of having a copy of Isn’t Real to call my own I could. I still do, from time to time, and I expect to spend many more hours there in the months and years to come.
Does this mean I believe Half Hearted Hero is poised to be the next big thing in music? Not really. The band’s music is incredibly personal and honest, which doesn’t necessarily equate to mass appeal, but for those who appreciate such art the band might be the best thing to happen to that specific community of music fans in a very long time. Half Hearted Hero may never be the biggest band on the planet, but they will and most likely are the biggest band to thousands of people around the world. Isn’t Real works because it is not afraid to focus on the little details that make life great just as much as the emotional extremes that tend to make stories more compelling. They offer you a bit of everything all at once, and as a fan of music you’re thankful for that gift. Perhaps more importantly, their art also inspires you to be more up front with others about your own perspective on things. You find strength to be a more honest version of yourself because Half Hearted Hero is so self-assuredly themselves on this release. That kind of inspiration, which makes it possible to love yourself a little more by embracing what makes you unique, is something that too few records accomplish in 2016. Half Hearted Hero make it look easy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they inspire a whole generation of aspiring musicians with the release of this record.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
Depending on where you live it may be hard to tell, but summer is fast-approaching, and with the rising temperatures comes an avalanche of new music competing for your attention and blog coverage. We cannot and should not tell you how to run your blog, but if you’re the kind of writer looking for the best of the best to share with your audiences then we know of a few upcoming releases you should definitely keep your eye on. These records criss-cross genres, but each one adds something special to the global music community that we believe is worthy of coverage.
Also, just so you don’t start believing we claim to have final say over everything that is good or bad, please know we are always in the market for new discoveries ourselves. It’s rare that more than a day or two passes without someone pitching us new music, and we do our best to hear everything that arrives in our inbox. If you know of a great record on the horizon that is not mentioned in the list below, please comment and add your suggestion. We will definitely make time to listen, and who knows? Maybe you will be responsible for kickstarting the development of future blog content down the line.
Anyways, here are our picks for the must hear albums of May 2016:
The Obsessives – My Pale Red Dot (May 6)
It is incredibly hard to summarize the sound of The Obsessives in a paragraph, let alone a single sentence, but their music can best be likened to carefree indie punk with often gut-wrenching themes. The band’s latest EP is a testament to their ability to take a wealth of diverse influences and channel them into something entirely unique. There is no other group in the world that could write or perform the way The Obsessives do, and this release sets the bar extremely high for everything they may do in the future.
Astronautilus – Cut The Body Loose (May 13)
If you have yet to listen to Astronautilus on our podcast, what are you waiting for? The Minneapolis based emcee is set to release his label debut for SideOneDummy Records this month, and we’ll be the first to tell you it is a serious contender for our favorite record of 2016. Cut The Body Loose celebrates the human spirit and mankind’s unique ability to accomplish pretty much anything we set our mind to. It’s the inspirational rap album to end all inspirational rap albums, and it’s coming out on one of the most punk labels in existence today. Don’t sleep on this record.
Pierce The Veil – Misadventures (May 13)
There are very few bands in alternative music today who are able claim they have maintained a singular narrative throughout the career, but Pierce The Veil can. The California rock act has been teasing the release of their fourth studio album for the better part of two years and the wait finally ends later this month. So far, early singles like “Texas Is Forever” and “Circles” tease a diverse offering that pushes the lyricism and technical prowess of the band. Whether or not it can top their other records remains to be seen, but we certainly hope it will.
Modern Baseball – Holy Ghost (May 13)
Modern Baseball are to pop-punk in 2016 what The Wonder Years were back in 2010. Having ascended through nearly every rung of the alternative underground as if they were propelled by jet fuel, the band is now in a place where mainstream publications are knocking on their door. Still, the material that makes up their third full-length is perhaps their most personal offering to date. The record addresses mental health, religion, and the stress distance places on relationships with an unabashed sense of realism that can shake you to your core. This makes for a challenging listen, but also a rewarding one, and at just twenty-eight minutes in length the album makes repeat listens incredibly easy to justify.
Head Wound City – A New Wave Of Violence (May 13)
This band features both Jordan Billie and Cody Votolato of The Blood Brothers. Do we really need to say more? Head Wound City has been a force for raw rock and roll goodness since the mid-2000s, but their musical output has sadly been pretty minimal. That changes this month when A New Wave Of Violence arrives in stores, and our hopes for the record could not be higher. Those who loved Billie and Votolato’s work with Blood Brothers will not be disappointed by this group’s sound, but those who disliked the band may find something to enjoy as well. This is not a knock-off as much as it is a variant that was inspired by acts that a lot of older alternative and hard rock fans still care about.
Tiny Moving Parts – Celebrate (May 20)
Minnesota rock purveyors Tiny Moving Parts have been in a league all their own since day one, and their latest record, Celebrate, cements their place as kings of the indie rock underground. Ripe with finger tapping, riffs, and hooks that just won’t quit, the third album from TMP features their longest and most creative songs. That said, the album barely cracks thirty-minutes in length, so though the songs are longer the nonstop party vibe of previous records is still present. There are no radio cuts on this record, but the band’s songwriting has taken an ever-so-slight turn toward the more accessible that should help them recruit a new group of devoted fans without alienating longtime supporters.
Hit The Lights – Just To Get Through To You (May 20)
2016 marks the ten-year anniversary of Hit The Lights’ debut album arriving in stores, and the band is celebrating their success by releasing a one-of-a-kind acoustic EP that features reworked version of classic songs, as well as a new track called “Lighthouse” that is sure to become a fan favorite. It seems every pop-punk band eventually reaches a point where they feel it necessary to release stripped down versions of their biggest hits, but in the case of Hit The Lights the changes made actually give you a new appreciation for the material. Even seemingly disposable songs, like the infectious and utterly empty “Drop The Girl,” feel more important when presented in a new light on this record.
Pup – The Dream Is Over (May 27)
It is quite possible that The Dream Is Over will be the best rock and/or punk album you hear all year. If Pup were a single US citizen and not a group of cool dudes from Canada we would call for them to be elected as president because that is how much we believe in their message, their music, and the endless fun that runs through everything the do. Listening to this album is akin to throwing the greatest party known to man, only there is no cleanup and the risk of nursing a hangover the next day are much lower. If a better collection of twenty-something anthems exist in 2016 we have yet to hear them.
Half Hearted Hero – Isn’t Real (May 27)
New England is no stranger to producing unique punk bands, and Half Hearted Hero are the latest exports from the area to earn national attention. After listening to their new record it’s not hard to understand why either as the group delivers catchy hooks and toe-tapping melodies with skill well beyond their years. It doesn’t hurt that the band spent the better part of a decade being a popular regional act, but they do not let their humble beginnings define who they will become in the future. Isn’t Real offers the promise of an alternative scene where the best music is held in higher regard than who can generate the most clicks, and we cannot wait to see where the band finds themselves once the world hear the art they have created.
Thrice – To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere (May 27)
It’s 2016 and we’re about to hear a new album from Thrice. Not a single, or an EP, but a complete full-length record filled with songs most of the world has never heard. If you had told us even a year ago this would be happening we probably would have scoffed in your face, but here we are and our excitement is through the roof. We have only heard as much of the record as the rest of the general public, yet we are convinced this will be one of the band’s best albums to date. Even mediocre Thrice is better than most bands at their absolute best.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
There are a lot of things about life you might need to know as an adult that even the best parents or caretakers choose to not tell their children. The reason for this is not born out of some sick desire to see the next generation struggle, but rather to give them the freedom of an existence without the constant worry or stress that comes with fully grasping what it means to be alive. As many philosophers have said, to be fully conscious of one’s own existence is to be painfully aware that existence has an expiration date, and we can try whatever we wish to prevent that moment from coming, but it is coming nonetheless. I was twenty-six or twenty-seven when I first began to grapple with the idea of growing older, which is much later in life than many can claim to have made it before that little voice in the back of their head began panicking about its eventual end. To be fair, none of us know what comes after our time on this planet is over, but that is precisely why our subconscious has such a hard time coming to terms with the knowledge we will sometime reach that point and that we are completely unable to change course. We may live a life different than the one we always planned for ourselves, trying in desperation to find some new path to happiness, but we will still reach the same conclusion in time. It’s unavoidable.
I cannot begin to explain what it will feel like when your brain begins to panic over the fact you’re reaching the end of the ‘growth’ period in life and entering the ‘slow, yet constant decline’ era, but I can say that it will more than likely keep you up at night. While the rest of the world sleeps, you will be lying in bed dreading the same thing every person who has ever walked this planet has lost sleep over since the beginning of time, and that is only the beginning of your struggle. Soon you will start to question everything, from the food you eat, to the people you surround yourself with, and even how you spend your time day to day. The things that once seemed incredibly important to you, like music or art, will take a back seat to your own subconscious fight for survival. You will kick and scream, metaphorically or otherwise, hoping for some peace of mind so that you might return to a state where all that matters to you is living in the now because, honestly, it’s all any of us have. There is right now, the moment you are in when this sentence hits your field of vision, and there is nothing. Your next breath is not guaranteed.
For me, this routine of sleepless nights and worried filled days made up a good portion of my 2015 and almost all of 2016 up until a few weeks ago. It was then, just as I was beginning to plan blog content for May, that something incredible happened. My friend James Cassar told me a band on his record label called The Obsessives who would soon be releasing a 7” with material he hoped I would make time to hear. I love James, so even though I hadn’t felt much like listening to or promoting new music I decided to give the first single from the upcoming release a few moments of my time. I didn’t tell him this yet, but the several minutes that followed that brief conversation nearly made me forget the cloud that had hung over my head the six to eight months prior. For the better part of two and a half minutes I was free of the fear of death and fully focused on the moment I was experiencing, which was a sensation unlike any I had felt in quite some time. The cobwebs that had filled the creative corners of my mind while I was desperate for answers to existential quandaries was suddenly bursting with the desire to share with the world what I had heard. I was, for lack of a better word, alive for the first time in what felt like forever.
The song in question was called “Avocado,” and looking back it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly set my imagination on fire, but it hit within seconds of the song kicking off. Something about the way the music and vocals hit struck a cord deep down in my soul, but having heard The Obsessive before this shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. The duo, comprised of Nick Bairatchnyi (guitars, vocals) and Jackson Mansfield (Drums), has been building a steady following for their unique take on alternative indie rock since 2012, but it was their decision to join Near Mint Records nearly three years back that thrust them into the national spotlight. Their music is diverse and unexpected, bursting with riffs and hooks in equal measure that never feel forced or created with any goal other than to capture a feeling or moment to tape. To hear The Obsessives is to learn their story through their own words, and once you’ve heard one chapter you cannot resist demanding that they create more. The narrative captured across their catalog tells of wide-eyed young people with a soft spot for friends and marijuana doing their best to navigate the tricky waters of the modern world without losing their souls. Sometimes this leads to success, but other times it causes great emotional turmoil, and the band is able to convey both the highest highs and lowest lows with skills well beyond their years. “Avocado” is no exception to this idea, and if anything it points to an even more brilliant creative future on the horizon.
Death will come for all of us in the end, and all we can do is make the most of the time we have been given. To do this, we must shake the fear of death from our minds and forge ahead as if we will be able to do everything we have our hearts set on. Music, especially innovative material like the latest recordings from The Obsessives, help make this process easier by reminding us of the beauty of existence. There is such profound emotion and heart laced through every note and lyric The Obsessives lay to tape that when their music plays you cannot help becoming a just little overwhelmed by life in the best possible way. You hear their music and you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that anything can happen and you can be whatever you want. Just keep moving. Just keep breathing. Just keep creating. We’re all here for a good time, not a long time, and great art makes the world a better place for everyone.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix and host of the Inside Music Podcast. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine. When not working, James can be found in Minneapolis with his two fat cats, Paws Von Trier and Chub E. Chubs, watching old police procedurals and eating copious amounts of popcorn. You should follow him on Twitter.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.
Some things become better with age. Wine, for example, is believed to taste better after it has been allowed to age for months or even years. The same can be said for several kinds of liquor, as well as the bond between two friends. The reasons for this are as varied as the list of things you could say improve with time, but perhaps the most interesting evolution aided by time is that of those who create. It’s one thing to write a song, teach it to your friends, record said song, and then perform that song every night for as long as people are willing to see you play. It’s something else entirely to do all of that and then, just as interest is beginning to wain, retreat to your secret lair and do it all over again, but that is the career musicians agree to when they decide to dedicate their lives to music.
For some creative types, the time between releases is a time to focus on refining what works for their sound without necessarily trying to change the status quo. There is this belief in popular music that most listeners want more of the same. They like who they like because of a certain sound or style and all they ask moving forward is for that artist or group to give them more of what they’ve already bought. What fans fail to realize, as do those artists who try to meet this demand, is that all creative types are people just like you or I at the end of the day. They might like certain things or think certain ways right now that they won’t even be able to relate to in six months times, let alone six years. People, regardless of career or status, must evolve to survive. It’s change and challenge that keeps our mind thinking and our muscles growing, and if we want to become the best versions of ourselves we have to first accept that it’s possible no one will enjoy what comes next. We have to accept that we will change regardless of our best efforts to stay the same, and when we do that we can begin to make the most out of the people we have become.
Otep has been a force for rock and roll creativity for the better of part of two decades now, but you would be hard-pressed to find any two albums in the band’s catalog that sound the same. From record to record, EP to EP, Otep has been a band that prides itself on setting a new standard not only for the members of the group, but the rock world at large as well. You might not know some of the band’s material, but the band’s you idolize do, and they’ve probably committed a large part of that material to memory because Otep is, and for some always have been, just that good.
All of this is why, just days away from the band’s seventh studio album hitting shelves, we felt compelled to bring their name to the Haulix blog. In our decade of existence we have yet to encounter a rock fan who did not know the name Otep, and that is not something that can be said for the vast majority of musicians working today. Somehow, despite changing consumer behaviors and the increasingly overcrowded genre they call home, Otep have been able to establish a presence beyond the world of cookie-cutter rock that demands just as much attention and respect as the bands currently making a living off the success of radio singles. We wish we could explain how this came to be in a way you could imitate in your own career, but to do so would be to express a basic misunderstanding about why Otep is considered so great in the first place. This band, perhaps more than any other group working in rock today, understands and embraces the uniqueness of who they are as people, and that acceptance of self is then conveyed through the art they create in such a way that fans feel inspire to live similarly lives.
When you hear Generation Doom you feel a fire ignite within your soul. You’ve probably felt this same fire before, most likely when you were just beginning to grasp how big the world actually is, and for one of the few times in your adult life you begin to believe anything is possible. When tracks like “God Is A Gun” plays you feel the strength of ten thousand armies coursing through your veins as the double bass bounces off the walls of your brain, and your body believes you can do anything. You feel empowered to express who you are, go after what you want, and altogether be whoever it is you feel you are regardless of what others might think. Even “Royals,” which is admittedly a metal cover of Lorde’s hit single of the same name, feels as if it could only be created by the group of musicians bringing this album to life. It is, just like every other song, a unique moment in time captured to digital tape in such a way as to not lose an ounce of the beauty found in the initial performance. This is raw rock, captured and preserved just as it was performed, and it’s utterly mesmerizing.
We don’t kid to ourselves and believe everyone will see this release the way we do, but it would be pretty great if that we the case. It should be, after all, as Otep have crafted an album with Generation Doom that will be looked upon in years to come as one of modern rock’s great accomplishments. It’s an intoxicating and pulsating musical romp that grabs you by the collar from the opening moments and never lets go. This album wants to make you think almost as much as it wants to inspire you to fight for change, and we believe it accomplishes both those goals in a big way. If you’re feeling as if your connection to music has begun to slip, this record may be the savior you have been seeking. This record is a reminder of the positive influence at can have on the world, and we would give anything to see more records like it appear in the years to come.
Generation Doom hits stores April 15, 2016 via Napalm Records.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
