#< also can i say that this specific riff reminds me of the early 2000s so much

[dailyhatsune]

old media is what keeps me going

[emilyblame]

i was about to call this a review, but it's not really a review, i'm just talking about the shit that i like. i'm not like, 'objectively' criticizing the album. 

 general impression: HOLY FUCKING SHIT! 

also my favorite song is probably I'M GONE. to be determined, though, i'm only on my third replay (in a row).

putting the rest under a cut for spoilers or whatever...

IDGAF

strong album opener. i loved this song since it came out. all of it.

Close my eyes and cross my fingers I don't wake up / 'Cause I don't really wanna die, but really don't give a fuck

I LIE TO ME

i wasn't much into this one when it first came out, but it grew on me.

Just try to breathe, and get some fucking sleep / Think better things, till the black and white start to saturate 

ILY, HOW ARE YOU?

i love how this song is about noticing someone else is having a bad time but waiting for them to talk about it first. like, not pressing the matter. and one of my favorite things is that the next song sounds like an answer to this one. 

You smile / But your eyes / They scream 'ignore me' 

IDC, I CAN'T TAKE IT

i love this song. it's such a live-song. like, it was written specifically to be played live. 

I don't care what you say, I don't care what you do / I don't care what you think, I don't care if it's true / I don't care if you leave, I don't care if we're through / It doesn't matter to me

I'D RATHER DIE 

not gonna lie i thought this was gonna be a heavy one. kinda surprised that it's pretty chill (the music at least.) lyrics are dark as fuck, but same, boys. fucking same. 

 It's like I'd rather die than take my own advice / It doesn't hurt to try - that's a fucking lie 

I MISS 2003 

fucking banger. i mean. the references alone. straight to my heart. also that riff... it's sooo early 2000s. i can't. i love everything about this song. 

Now life is boring, let's write a story where we never grow up 

I'M SICK AND TIRED 

that breakdown... please. the clapping. the guitars are so dirty too, it really gives that early 2000s post-grunge vibe. the last chorus with a final riff kicking in, BITCH. 

My head is feeling like a cage again / Self-destructing into nothing 

I WANT TO SEE GOD

this song sounds like a b-side from The Used's self-titled album and i'm in fucking love with it. i feel 13 just listening to it. also, love how the line I've got some matches and a bad idea in my brain plays with the theme in In Threes. just. placement is everything.

I don't see the light / I don't feel alive / I don't think my thoughts and I should be alone tonight

IN THREES 

everything about this song is perfect. and i know this is As It Is' moment, but i gotta be honest with you guys: my favorite part about this song is Cody's runs over the last chorus. that's some Justin Timberlake shit and i love it so much, that boy is so talented.

The fire inside of my head got out / I don't give a fuck if the house burns down

also the end of Jordy's verse, because i just won't choose:

When lying is all that I got 'cause it's hard to survive when you're living this life / And death is a bit of a bitch so I step to the side and I swallow my pride

I HATE ME TOO

this song just made me sad. who's being mean to the boys on the internet, i just wanna talk. no, but seriously, like, they're barely even online, how are they getting hate? people suck. them harmonies on the bridge tho. on point.

Just say that you'll remember me / A distant little corner of your memory / And when you can spare the empathy / Just paint my portrait over with a better me

I'M GONE

the vocal melody in this song is so nice...? like, both the verses and the chorus. the chorus is so satisfying to sing, you know what i mean? it's touching a nostalgic fiber in my heart but i can't tell what it reminds me of. best feeling ever btw. also: i don't know who recorded drums for this but oh, my god! and if they're programmed then... i'm sorry for the drummer that has to play this song live, it sounds like a workout. i love it.

Am I dreaming in silence? / Or screaming and holding on / To a hope that's gone?

I DIE 1000x

catch me crying my eyes out through that second verse. if you think the first time was the hardest i cried then... you're wrong.

Just fucking tell me what I want to hear / That you don't even really want me here / That I've been holding on / When all along all you'd be is better off without me here

i really felt that.

I CAN'T FEEL A THING

you know that nostalgic fiber i was talking about? yeah, same thing here. only this one makes me think of Linkin Park kinda... Living Things era? maybe? idk but i love it so much. i really like the contrast between the sweet piano-thingy and Patty screaming. i don't think i mentioned it (in this post) yet, but i adore Patty's scream. it's so good.

Give me what I deserve / Give me hell, give me hurt / Give me all of your worst

I WENT TO HELL AND BACK

short and to the point. yes, please. i feel like, lyrically it sums up everything the album talks about. and musically it's a really round finish to an album that's pretty heavy. i love the little bell-like sounds. and listen, i'm auto-tune's number one hater but... i really like how the low-pitched lines play against with those bell-like sounds. also, it ends in a very re-playable way, it leaves you wanting more. that's a good thing. i love that.

i can't choose a lyric from this song, the whole thing is just so good.

[holeinwallpoem]

Hey folks that for some reason follow this blog, today I’m going to be talking about a random topic and that topic will be my “analysis” of the songs in Twisted, though it’s pretty much just what songs I think they sound most similar to/what references there are. Source: me, a fan of Starkid, Disney movies, and Wicked, who only knows minimal music theory. 

(I had a video on this but I was scared Disney would sue me.)

Prologue: I don’t know if this song is actually called “Prologue” in Twisted (is it actually just considered part of the beginning of Dream A Little Harder?), but it sounds extremely similar to the Prologue of Beauty and the Beast. The scenes are also both setting up backstory for the events of the actual story, so they’re similar in that way. Plus the BatB parallels become more apparent in the next song...

Dream A Little Harder: I think most people realize that this song is mostly a parody of Belle from BatB, especially at the beginning. There are several quotes from the original song, such as “Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!” and “I need six eggs!”, plus Ja’far does everything Belle does in the original. The song also specifically references “Whistle While You Work” and “Spoonful of Sugar”.

I Steal Everything: This is Aladdin’s introduction song, and so it parodies Aladdin’s original introduction song, “One Jump Ahead”. Again, this is probably pretty obvious. The line leading into the song is “I steal only what I can’t afford, and that’s everything”, which is a line from “One Jump Ahead”. The sections of the song that go “Hippie! Fucker! Slacker! Sucker!” parallel “Riff raff! Street rat! Scoundrel! Take that!”.

Everything and More: This is a princess “I Want” song, so what better song to use as a reference than another princess “I Want” song? This parodies “Part Of Your World”. It is not quite as direct as some others, but it is especially obvious in the structure of the song and the lyrics at the beginning and the end: “Look at my life from the outside and sure, I've got servants and tigers and stuff. You're probably thinking, ‘She's got everything’. Well it's true 'cause I do, But so the fuck what, it's not enough” vs. “she's got everything. I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty, I've got whozits and whatzits galore. (You want thingamabobs? I got twenty) But who cares? No big deal. I want more,” and “What I wouldn't give to live in a new situation” vs. “What would I give, If I could live outta these waters?”.

Sands of Time: I can’t think of a particular song this one could be inspired by. It makes me sad though.

Golden Rule (& Evil Reprise I guess): It could just be me but this song really reminds me of “The Bare Necessities”. Both songs are sharing a character’s philosophy of life, plus the lyrics “simple reciprocity is always my philosophy, I get back what I give” reminds me of “I mean the bare necessities, Old Mother Nature's recipes, that brings the bare necessities of life”. I think the jazzy instrumentals sound similar as well. I guess the Evil Reprise would just be the dark version?

A Thousand and One Nights: I don’t think this song parodies a specific other song, but it seems to be inspired by other Disney romantic duets. However, I think the guitar is reminiscent of a lot of Wicked songs, like “Dancing Through Life” and “As Long As You’re Mine”. The credits version is a parody of the cheesy pop/R&B versions of duets in Disney movies from the 90s and even early 2000s.

If I Believed: This song doesn’t really remind me of any others either. It also makes me sad though.

Orphaned at 33: This one parodies “Proud of Your Boy”, another Aladdin ballad. Even though the latter was only included as part of the musical, which was after Twisted, it was written for the movie and included as bonus features. The structures of the songs are the same, especially the bridge sections. I think both are in the same key as well. You can basically sing the lyrics to the bridge of one song to the melody of the other:

“They call me a jerkoff, a burnout, a punk But I can't let that junk in my head I could've been a contender If not for the fact that my parents are dead All things considered, I think I turned out pretty good Pulled myself up by my bootstraps and started Stealing all I could” vs.

“Tell me that I've been a louse and loafer You won't get a fight here, no ma'am Say I'm a goldbrick, a goof-off, no good But that couldn't be all that I am, Water flows under the bridge Let it pass, let it go There's no good reason that you should believe me Not yet, I know but“

Bonus: “I’m gonna live forever!” is reference to “Fame”.

Happy Ending: Ja’far’s lyrics to this song parody Elphaba in “The Wizard And I”. Both characters are fantasizing about a future where they will be celebrated, and there’s a bit of ironic foreshadowing. The instrumentals also sound similar, though kind of at different parts (“one day the genie will say to me...” lines up more with “unlimited, my future is unlimited” in terms of piano underscoring, though the lyrics better match “one day he’ll say to me...).

“They'll throw a parade in my honor...The people will cheer for the royal vizier...Not that I care for glory...And one day the genie will say to me: ‘Ja'far, you're a man of such virtue’...share an itty-bitty living space,”

“A celebration throughout Oz that's all to do with me!...When people see me, they will scream...But of course that's not important to me...And one day, he'll say to me, ‘Elphaba, A girl who is so superior’...I’d be so happy I could melt!”

No One Remembers Achmed: I don’t think this one parodies any specific songs. Or maybe I just don’t remember them?

Take Off Your Clothes: Again, pretty obvious, but this one parodies “A Whole New World”. The structure of the songs is the same, lyrics are similar (”shining, sparkling, metallic” and “shining, shimmering, splendid”), the rhythms are the same or similar, and the melodies are basically inverses of each other.

Twisted: The parts for the other villains parody their songs, ie. Ursula’s part sounds like “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and Scar��s part sounds like “Be Prepared”. Ja’far’s part I think sounds similar to “No Good Deed” in Wicked. Both characters have chosen to become the villain everyone thinks they are after believing they have lost everything (...even though neither one really becomes a villain even after this part). Lots of electric guitar. Genius also says the beginning music sounds like “Damned For All Time” from Jesus Christ, Superstar, but I’m not a big ALW fan so I can’t vouch for that. It probably does though. Ja’far also references Hamlet by using a phrase from the “To Be or Not To Be?” soliloquy, “’tis nobler in the mind”.

“But I had good intentions, I did it for a reason...I'll give them all the unsung antihero they deserve. I've nothing left to lose, so the only path to choose is twisted...Let my life be twisted, I'll be twisted, it's my turn!”

“Who cares if no one will ever mourn me?”

“My road of good intentions led where such roads always lead...Let all Oz be agreed, I'm wicked through and through...I promise no good deed will I attempt to do again, ever again! No good deed will I do again!”

“No one mourns the wicked.”

The Power In Me: In theme and location in the show, as well as some of the lyrics, this song parallels “For Good” from Wicked. The lyrics “I’ll carry you in my heart” are similar to “you’ll be with me, like a handprint on my heart.” Other than that I don’t think the music is that similar but the themes definitely are.

A Thousand And One Nights (Reprise): This one parodies Disney finales. It sounds kinda like the Aladdin finale, which is a reprise of “A Whole New World”.

Ok that’s it! Idk why I made this post, but here you go!

[bthenoise]

Here’s A Reminder Of Just How Kickass Sum 41′s ‘Does The Look Infected?’ Is Thanks To Seaway’s Ken Taylor

15 years ago there’s a pretty good chance you watched a life-changing music video (whether on MTV2, Fuse, or Yahoo!) by an up-and-coming pop-punk band out of Canada. That video, featuring anarchy barbie dolls and various pop culture action figures, was for Sum 41′s massive 2002 single “The Hell Song.”

Speaking as a bunch of former angsty teens who completely worshiped that video at the time, “The Hell Song” served as less of a soundtrack for our middle school days and more of inside look into the chaos that circulated throughout our juvenile brains on a day-to-day basis. Needless to say, Sum 41 spoke to us in a major way back in 2002.

Assuming a similar experience took place for many of you reading this, we’d like to think -- like us -- you completely lost your mind when you saw Sum 41 announced a 15-year anniversary tour for their sophomore LP Does This Look Infected?. Not only will the band be playing all the hits (”Over My Head,” “Still Waiting”) but they’ll also be ripping into some fan-favorite deep cuts like “My Direction” and “A.D.I.C” with original members Deryck Whibley, Dave “Brown Sound” Baksh and Cone McCaslin as well as drummer Frank Zummo and guitarist Tom Thacker.     

Now, to get you guys even more excited and prepared for the upcoming 21-date tour, we reached out to Sum 41′s tourmates and fellow Canadian act Seaway (specifically drummer Ken Taylor) to help refresh your memory on just how kickass Does This Look Infected? really is.

Walking you through track by track, Taylor (being the huge Sum 41 fan he is) will help you remember exactly why you fell in love with one of Sum 41′s biggest records. To check out Taylor’s in-depth recap of Does This Look Infected? be sure to look below. Afterward, make sure to pick up tickets to see Sum 41 and Seaway out on tour together alongside Super Whatevr here.

“The Hell Song”

The opening riff transports me back to watching Much Music on my couch. It’s instantly recognizable, and the music video is such a classic that I can’t separate it from the song itself. This song encompasses all the greatest parts of Sum 41 and is a great way to start off the record and any concert. 

“Over My Head (Better Off Dead)”

Once again, the riffs. The palm-muted/highlighted notes in the verses are perfect. The chorus is huge. Definitely a guaranteed sing-a-long from the get-go. Also, can’t go wrong with a buttload of pinch harmonics. Huge track.  

“My Direction”

Straight up pop-punk chorus. Super fast verses with a great message:

(”Picture this every day, kids that just can't find a way. Stuck in disarray can't find hope for better days. It's the degeneration of childhood frustration. In the last 30 years, teenage suicide has increased 300% in North America; It is the second major cause of death in Canada.”) 

This was likely the first time I had heard a band openly discussing suicide in their songs and it showed me a different side of one of my favourite bands, while also proving that you can write a serious song without having to make it musically dark. 

“Still Waiting”

Instantly recognizable. Once again, I always tie this song in with the music video (The Sums, Will Sasso). Huge chorus that you can’t help but sing along to. I think this was the first single released from Does This Look Infected? and it got me so pumped for the release.  

“A.N.I.C.”

Definitely the reason for the “Parental Advisory” logo on the cover, which obviously made me want the record even more when I was a kid. I remember seeing a segment on the evening news about this song prior to the release. Blast beats, booming drums, a lot of swearing. Can’t go wrong.  

“No Brains”

Opening riff is debatably a nu-metal riff. I love how it picks up momentum in the chorus. The second verse has a palm-muted part that wouldn’t be too out of place in early 2000’s metalcore and that is quite alright with me. Oh, the bridge is a face-melting guitar solo? God damn right it is. Love this track.  

“All Messed Up”

Another classic pop-punk banger. Lyrically and musically it is just exactly what I want out of a song by Sum 41. The bridge has a part that reminds me of The Who. GOOD SHIT. 

“Mr. Amsterdam”

Fast drums, fast guitars, call and response screaming and singing. Super angsty, super thrashy. The bridge is 100% one of my favourite parts out of their entire catalog. You will see me in the pit during that part at a few shows on this tour. 

“Thanks for Nothing”

This one opens up with Steve-O on vocals and I’m all about that. Super-pissed off lyrics and a big chorus make this a sing-a-long for sure. Throw in a machine gun chugging breakdown in the bridge and yep, I’m hooked.  

“Hyper-Insomnia-Para-Condrioid”

Impossible not to headbang to this one. This is one of those songs that you want to be at the barrier for. Or crowdsurfing over the barrier. Or launching off the stage over the barrier. Hmmm...

“Billy Spleen”

Opens up with the metallic side of Sum 41 that I love. The chord choices in the chorus catch you off guard and keep things interesting. Lots of double-kick in this song which keeps it galloping along at a vicious pace just when you need it.

“Hooch”

A great choice for the closing track, “Hooch” sums up all the different sounds that you get from this album. The drop out at the end of the song with Deryck gently singing “I’ll fall into you, but don’t believe that this is real” is perfect and I can’t wait to see the crowd sing along every night on this tour.

MORE FROM SUM 41:

[jezfletcher]

1000 Albums, 2020: Albums #30-21

This is the first of six posts wrapping up my and Sam’s 2020 Music Project. Once again, as we have for five years now, we’ve hit 1000 albums from the year. In fact, this year, we listened to 1074 albums released in the year (December 2019-November 2020, inclusive), plus 102 throwback albums (not from 2020), and 1698 entities in total, which also includes tracks released as stand-alone singles, EPs and the like.

While we listen to the same set of music, Sam and I have quite divergent tastes, and his choices will be quite different from mine. But I’m hoping for a couple of high-profile crossovers. There are certainly a few albums this year that we both very much enjoyed.

As a programming note, I’m ordering my posts slightly differently this year, in order to keep Sam’s anticipation of my posts as high as possible (after all, he’s the one who most cares about this). Rather than giving the long list of “almost ran” albums right at the start, thereby eliminating all the real contenders, I’m going to count down my Top 30 albums ten at a time, after which I’ll reveal the longer list of outlier albums #31-100. That way, he’ll be thinking “ooh, will Butch Walker be in his top 10??” right up until the last post. Except I’m bound to disappoint him, because Butch Walker comes in at #54.

After I’ve finished the albums, I’ll list my top tracks in two posts: the first will be the outliers, the second will be actual writeups of my genuine favourite tracks of the year. Usually I provide my top tracks without much commentary, but this year I’ve got a collection of ~30 tracks or so that I do want to say something about individually.

Before we get there, though, let’s look through the first set of my top albums of the year.

#30. Saint Saviour - Tomorrow Again (chamber folk)

A great collection of music, with an ethereal folk quality running through it. But they elevate it with chamber instrumentation, in particular some very fine string arrangements. These work perfectly with soft vocal harmonies, and some oddly catchy riffs. It is, in some ways, quite sullen, but the otherworldly quality stops it from ever being less than fascinating.

My favourite track here is a real stand out: Taurus. It fits beautifully with the rest of the album, while also being the exemplar of what makes the album good. The haunting piano riff, which is eventually doubled with intersecting vocal lines is just a beautiful piece of music.

Recommended track: Taurus.

#29. Post Animal - Forward Motion Godyssey (psychedelic rock)

This was an album that took out an Album of the Week award in February, but it was one that I didn’t necessarily think a lot of for the rest of the year. When I came to relisten to it, I was reminded again that this stood out. This isn’t your regular psych-infused indie rock. It has a hardness to it which helps, but more that that, these folks play with harmonic and melodic shifts that don’t necessarily make sense. It almost feels like a new tonality at times—just enough to catch you off guard and make you constantly re-evaluate where you’re balancing in listening to a track.

My favourite track off the album is the self-titled Post Animal, but to be honest, there’s a great deal on the album of similar quality—it’s the combined weight of all of the great stuff that propels this into my Top 30 albums of the year.

Recommended Track: Post Animal

#28. The Jerry Cans - Echoes (Inuit neo-folk)

An album I liked well-enough on the week we listened to it (it took out the third place spot to two albums which are now below it in the list), it took until relistening for me to get it into my head that it was genuinely the best and most interesting album of the week. Combining mildly folk-infused pop rock with Inuit-language lyrics and judicious use of throat-singing, this is the kind of album which you’re forced to consider on its own terms.

Mostly, though, it succeeds by being catchy, well-written rock. The folk parts are just icing on the cake, and provide it with a differentiating point that really help elevate it when you’re comparing it to other top albums of the year. There are a number of good tracks here, but I’ve picked Atauttikkut, one of the ones completely in Inuit and with the best incorporation of the rhythmic throat singing at an appropriate point.

Recommended Track: Atauttikkut

#27. Aloud - Sprezzaturra (blues rock)

This is a surprising entry for me, and it’s likely to surprise Sam as well, as this is another that didn’t stand out that much in the week I heard it. But on the numbers, it was definitely an album that warranted a relisten. And once I’d taken the whole album, rather than just the isolated track I added to my “revision playlist”, I saw what a rich collection of music it was. It’s not specifically limited to blues—it takes in a lot of jazz and soul influences, in the way of an artist like Lake Street Dive (#3 album of 2016 for me). And there’s variety across the album, which makes the whole album a much richer experience than listening to just your favourite track or two. I mean, isn’t that the great point of an album in any case?

Picking out a single track, as a result is difficult, and the one I singled out the first time doesn’t even feel necessary like the best candidate. Instead, I’ll go with Hungry Land, which almost takes a bit of jazz-era Chicago or E-Street Band kind of crunch to it.

Recommended Track: Hungry Land

#26. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - PHB (psychedelic soul)

Again a band which can really pump out those jazz influences, these guys also play with nu disco, experimental pop and dreampop to give a surprisingly diverse album. It’s an album that’s often based around those driving jazz riffs though, even when you get a good danceable track like my top track Riot.

Quite surprisingly, despite this being one of my top albums of the year, I don’t think it’s among their personal best work, meaning that there’s ample room for the 2022-ish PHB album to really blow me out of the water. They’re capable of it.

Recommended Track: Riot

#25. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Reunions (alt country)

This is one of the rare albums where my list will agree with the bulk of the “best albums of the year” lists. It doesn’t happen often—I like to think it’s because I listen to a shit-ton more music than the average music journalist, but this is probably kidding myself. Anyway, despite not agreeing very often, this is a match, and it’s a fine album. Isbell has a strong sense of honest songwriting, and can put together something that’s heartwrenching in both tone and lyrical content. Tracks like It Gets Easier are hard-hitting numbers, while others provide much needed levity.

My personal favourite track on this album is Be Afraid, which has a great hook in the chorus, which feels neatly rhythmically contorted.

Recommended Track: Be Afraid

#24. Badly Drawn Boy - Banana Skin Shoes (indie pop rock)

Part of our music project this year was listening to all of the albums which won the Mercury Prize for album of the year, from Primal Scream’s Screamadelica right through to this year’s winner Kiwanuka from Michael Kiwanuka (which we actually heard as part of last year’s music project). Amusingly, Badly Drawn Boy’s album The Hour of Bewilderbeest, which won the 2000 Mercury Prize came up not long before we discovered a new album from the group, 20 years later. And this is a very fine album. It has that quality I love in established artists’ later work, which is that they feel a sense of freedom of what they’re creating. Here, they’re much less serious and affected than in Bewilderbeest, allowing a fuller sense of humour and fun to their lyrics, and providing more of an upbeat drive.

There’s no less complexity to the songwriting though, and there’s some biting satire to the content. But it’s put into a remarkably delicious container. Often you don’t realise some of these poppy numbers are ascerbic as they are. A couple of really good tracks on here, but I think my pick is Is This a Dream?.

Recommended Track: Is This a Dream?

#23. MOBS - Cinema Paradiso (80s pastiche pop)

There’s always a place for pure pop in my album lists, and MOBS not only provide us with pure pop, they throw it through the magic 80s synthpop filter. It comes out blasting the other end with cheesy neon energy and a oiled-up saxophonist wearing leather pants. It’s high-energy stuff, pulsating with a kind of groove and energy that is too often eschewed in modern popular music.

There are two tracks I particularly love here, Big World and School’s Out, both of which take funk and disco rhythms and throw all the pastiche of the 80s on top. All with a rich, bassy production quality that sounds a lot more modern. I will say that I thought early on that this might be higher in the list than this, but on relistening it felt a little more like a “solid” album with a couple of really great fun tracks on it.

Recommended track: School’s Out

#22. Jason Wilson - Sumach Roots (eclectic folk)

This is an album that over the year since its January release has become something of a meme between Sam and me. Because it was an album we both really liked overall, and yet for both of us, it was difficult to point to any individual songs that seemed to really illustrate why the album was good. Hence the term “a Jason Wilson” entered the parlance, meaning an album that we liked despite the seeming lack of individual standout tracks.

Partially, the reason this is good is its eclecticism. It kind of runs through various modes of melodic folk, perhaps with reggae influences being something of a touchpoint across the album. Wilson assembles a good ensemble of musicians to match his flow, and there’s a consistent feeling of coherence as a result. While it’s hard to pick out an individual track, I personally like the double/half time reggae of Happy Little Sisyphus, which has its own relentless quality as though it’s constantly driving its own rock up a hill. But again, this feels like an album that you can’t gauge just by listening to a single track in isolation.

Recommended track: Happy Little Sisyphus

#21. DMA’S - The Glow (Australio indie rock)

A really good collection of music from the Australian group here. I would have said I “surprisingly liked” their 2018 album For Now, but this is an album I absolutely embraced. It’s also an album I’d somewhat forgotten about until I did relistening at the end of the year. It won my Album of the Week back in July when it was released, but it largely didn’t feature in my thought process for the end of the year until I realised what a concentration of great tracks it has. Criminals, Round & Around, and title track The Glow are great pieces of enjoyable pop rock, infused with just enough aggression and drive to give them an edge.

My personal favourite track though is Never Before, which swoops upwards with an almost ethereal, psych-channeling vocal line, still while bringing the crunchy guitars and driving beat underneath to move it forward. But there’s a lot that’s good on this album, and while this might not canonically fit the definition of “a Jason Wilson”, it’s also an album which feels like it becomes more than the sum of its parts.

Recommended Track: Never Before

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 14/11/2020 (Ariana Grande, Little Mix)

We’re in a similar situation to last week where despite two massive albums – Little Mix’s Confetti even debuting at #2 on the album chart behind Kylie Minogue’s Disco (which was unprecedented but completely understandable since Kylie is massive here) – are both released, but there’s a very muted impact on the chart, mostly because of silly UK Singles Chart rules. In fact, you could argue there’s more impact from smaller releases from Giggs and The Kid LAROI, but that’s just how streaming goes. Since this chart doesn’t include radio, hip-hop has more of a chance in many ways to debut on the chart than the type of pop Kylie makes but its longevity is seriously impaired. Also, ageism doesn’t exist on the albums chart but on here it is in full effect. Regardless, we have 12 new arrivals, mostly from the aforementioned artists, so let’s start. Ariana Grande’s “positions” is still #1 – you can chalk that up to lack of competition – and welcome to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

Before we get to the songs debuting on the UK Top 75 proper this week, let’s have our brief little musical rundown, starting with the drop-outs as there were a fair few, namely “Go Crazy” by Chris Brown and Young Thug (a pretty damn big hit for the both of them), “West Ten” by AJ Tracey and Mabel (again, a very big hit, one of the biggest of the year making its exit), “Only You Freestyle” by Headie One and Drake lasting longer than I expected or it probably should have, “Loose” by S1mba and KSI leaving perhaps prematurely, “808” by Da Beatfreakz, Dutchavelli, DigDat and B Young, “5AM” by M Huncho and Nafe Smallz (Thank God) and a couple of our high debuts and returns from last week, like “motive” by Ariana Grande featuring Doja Cat – but we will see more of Ariana today – and the charity single “Four Notes – Paul’s Tune” by Paul Harvey and the BBC Philharmonic, as well as all three of the returning Halloween tracks, including “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. Oh, yeah, and as anyone could safely predict, all of the Bring Me the Horizon songs are gone, even “Teardrops”, which means we officially have 100% less metalcore on the chart, and I’m surprised to say I’m genuinely disappointed. In terms of returning entries, we have “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi making a return to #71, “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey re-appearing for the first time this year and remarkably early to #60 and some returns from album boosts, those being “Magic” by Kylie Minogue peaking at #53 and “Happiness” by Little Mix doing the same at #43. The biggest fall this week was “Ain’t it Different” by Headie One featuring AJ Tracey and Stormzy dropping out of the top 10 to #31, probably because it had its streaming numbers cut as many songs do after they’ve reached more than 10 weeks in the top 40. The biggest gain however was for “SO DONE” by The Kid LAROI just missing out on the top 40 at #44. I can honestly see this becoming huge. Oh, and “Whoopty” by CJ is now in the top 40 at #39. Joy... Let’s just get straight to these new songs.

NEW ARRIVALS

#75 – “WITHOUT YOU” – The Kid LAROI

Produced by Blake Slatkin and Omar Fedi

So this kid LAROI released an EP that attaches to a mixtape he released earlier this year, Frick Love, which has been reissued as a sort of deluxe edition, without there even being a debut studio album to reissue, just a mixtape. Either way, this new hybrid deluxe version, repackaged as Frick Love (Savage), has been considerably more successful than the original mixtape so far, probably off of the back of that “SO DONE” single. Awful cover art aside; I did not listen to this project because I am not interested at all in some Australian emo-rapper’s EP, especially if it’s going to Marshmello, Machine Gun Kelly and YoungBoy Never Broke Again on it. This kid LAROI said that this is his favourite song off of the release because, and I quote verbatim: “I just like it, I don’t know, it’s kind of, dude, I don’t know, it’s a little different, it’s like a little, uh, acoustic vibe, uh, I just like it.” It’s nice to see this new generation of musicians be so articulate. Well, this is a pretty trite song with rote acoustic guitar strumming that is pretty conventional of softer emo-pop, but this song doesn’t come with infectious choruses, emotional bloodletting or even more than a single verse. Instead, it’s just absolute garbage with a guitar riff I swear I’ve heard before. There’s no development to this increasingly exhausting ballad other than this kid LAROI crooning and moaning in a pathetic Auto-Tune falsetto some clearly misogynist lyrics that he only picked up from Juice and other rappers. This kid shouldn’t care about making wives out of hoes, he should be studying. I’m almost offended by this on a personal level, or at least the principle that this kid at seventeen years old could go on about heartbreak that probably didn’t happen and use it to excuse and disguise clearly lazy, sexist lyrics. At least with other emo-rap it feels genuine and angsty. This is just disposable garbage that his audience will eat up like fast food, and it comes from such an insincere place that I can’t excuse it.

#66 – “ALWAYS DO” – The Kid LAROI

Produced by Omar Fedi, Khaled Rohaim, Donn Robb and Haan

Just like that, he’s back, folks. Okay, well, he starts off this song by saying he’s drinking again, which he can’t do for another year according to Australian law. I’ll take that as a complete lie he’s hogged from his mentor Juice WRLD and clearly not understood why that led to his downfall and death; the glamorisation of drugs in Juice’s music was unintentional and misconstrued that way by record label yes-men and some of his fans, who ate up the music and maybe didn’t grasp the message Juice was clearly advocating for. So, you’re just going to blindly lie to your fans – ALL of which are children – about substance abuse with very little commentary around it other than how it affects this fake relationship for the sake of making “relatable” hits that ultimately go against everything Juice would have wanted? Delightful. When other rappers talk about a bitch, they have a casual, disposable tone that suggests they’re groupies and whilst this is such an accepted form of misogyny in music, which also annoys me for the record even if music I adore expresses as such, it at least shows that the rappers don’t care or use the women as a line-filler or flex. When this douche says the word “bitch”, he means it. It comes with such vile, toxic bitterness that I’m convinced the Kid LAROI just hates women. Not even specific women, just the concept of “woman”. Sigh... can someone take this disrespectful toad off the charts – and quick?

#64 – “Buff Baddies” – Giggs

Produced by Trooh Hippi

Speaking on not respecting women, British rapper Giggs is here with his second mixtape. He’s got a couple more tracks on the chart, this is the first and it’s all about “buff baddies”. “WAP” has led to men thinking they can be extra horny as well and I’m not going to shame any kind of sex positivity but when Giggs talks almost exclusively what the women are doing for him and doesn’t have a lick of personality to it, it feels less absurd and over-the-top than it does just gross. It doesn’t help that his delivery is almost comically blunt and completely charmless over this non-existent cloudy trap beat, and there’s no hook or chorus to speak of, so this is just completely worthless. This reminds me of Dean Blunt’s Babyfather projects, you know, the mixtapes where he actively makes fun of this type of rap and even then is miles more interesting and charismatic? God, what an awful track.

#63 – “I’ll Call You Back” – dutchavelli

Produced by Big Zeeko

Oh, and dutchavelli released an album too called Dutch from the 5th, so we have more to come from him as well. Look, I’m tired, I’m fed up, I just want this episode to be done with and maybe I’m not in the right mood to listen to snooze-worthy generic hacks in modern hip hop all have their own mini-album bombs. Just maybe. I’m not sure if that excuses the clear lack of quality and effort in any of this, or the fact that the billion-dollar company I use to listen to the product of billion-dollar companies apparently can’t have an app that works and allows me to listen to said product. To be fair to dutch, this is a more introspective track with melancholy piano loops and pretty basic trap-drill percussion, but I do like some of the lyrical content here, where he talks about how even though he feels distant from his loved ones as a big star, he really wants to keep in contact and he details some of his struggles in a really heartfelt way. His delivery is emotive and even when it’s heavily Auto-Tuned, you can tell he’s pretty frustrated with the conflict between his newfound popularity and keeping up to standards with his personal relationships. He’s not always perfectly on beat and honestly the song kind of goes nowhere, but I like the lyrics about his childhood and his mother, and I especially think his breathless, stiff cadence when he pleads with his girlfriend is pretty effective. As a song though, I don’t think I’ll be going back to this at all, which is a shame.

#59 – “Get Out My Head” – Shane Codd

Produced by Shane Codd

Shane Codd is an Irish producer, singer and DJ from Dublin who amassed a following from his playlist showcasing classic trance and house hits from the 1990s and 2000s, which he became infatuated with as a child, explaining why his first and only song is already on the chart, albeit just at #59. That “Trance Anthems 90s-00s” playlist does have some bangers (I’m not going to complain about Alice Deejay, Moby or Zombie Nation), so does Codd follow in the footsteps of these classic trance acts? Well, no. No, he doesn’t. This is a house-pop song if anything, but it’s not like I know all the ins and outs of this stuff. I have a friend that does know a lot about trance; I don’t even think she’d like this. It’s pretty lazy, bizarrely-mixed house with a lot of focus on those classic 90s pianos that do sound straight out of that diva house and Eurodance era (in fact, this is practically a Eurodance song), but without much character to speak of. For a first song, it is impressively professional but not to the extent that the percussion sounds any less cheap or tinny, or that the chopped-up vocals, from some generic female singer as always, are charming. This is exactly what I think would happen if you fed a robot tropical house music, a couple FL Studio plug-ins and a “Trance Anthems 90s-00s” playlist, and told it to produce some kind of cohesive result in return. It’s telling that this soulless dreck charted, but hey, if he’s got the following and any kind of budget, he could improve considerably and this isn’t that bad on principle. It’s just wearing influences not on the sleeve but as make-up, to cover up the lack of artistic dignity or progression the guy has, not that I expect him to (it is only his first song after all). Next.

#56 – “Say Something” – Kylie Minogue

Produced by Jon Green and Richard “Biff” Stannard

I'm not a big Kylie Minogue fan but I can admit like anyone who's not too far up their own ass that she has a lot of classics, a lot of bops and most importantly to this show in particular, a lot of bonafide smash hits to her belt. My personal favourite is "The Loco-Motion" but her 2014 album Kiss Me Once was a big factor into my appreciation of this type of inoffensive dance-pop (that indirectly made me eventually start this series), especially the lead single "Into the Blue". Speaking of lead singles, this was the lead for her 2020 effort, Disco, but it didn't actually chart until this week interestingly. Well, with that said, there must be a reason the big lead single from July didn’t chart until November, and the second single, “Magic”, did, so I’m not expecting prime Kylie here, and I’m not expecting myself to write positively about it either because I had to restart Spotify like five times before being able to actually play the song so I’m pretty annoyed with these billion-dollar companies right now... and, yeah, okay, with the synthesized choir and the staccato synth bass, I can understand how this feels less alive than other songs she’s made, particularly because this feels like a rather dumbed-down revision of 1980s pop with some really awkward vocal mixing and a chorus that never really hits. Kylie doesn’t sound great here at all either, and the guitars are just kind of garish, especially in the first verse. It doesn’t help that this is a messy song structure-wise, and that the title drop in the chorus is neither cathartic nor worth waiting for. There’s also a bridge-outro that never leads back into a chorus, so the song just floats away sadly into nowhere. Yeah, it’s safe to say this is a disappointment, especially from a lead single but it does make sense that at this point in her career Kylie and her team may be artistically stagnating. It’s been more than three decades; I’m just impressed she’s still putting out music.

#54 – “Plugged in Freestyle” – A92 and Fumez the Engineer

Produced by Charlie Mockler

It’s not often that the engineer gets lead billing, let alone an engineer whose stage name is entirely based on the fact that he is an engineer, and didn’t even produce the track. Anyway, it’s not actually unusual for YouTube and radio freestyles to chart, in fact the GRM Daily Duppy freestyles have charted before for both J Hus and Aitch. It is unusual for viral Irish drill tracks to chart however, but this did get traction as a viral video as well as the absurdity of Irish drill, which is now a rising phenomenon. A92 is an Irish drill group and all of the four members present here get three verses each, leading up to either 12 verses overall or just one big collaborative verse depending on how you count these things. You may notice at this point that I’m stalling, mostly because the Spotify app still refuses to function correctly once again. It’s not like I’m missing much in terms of unique bars or even cadence. I expected a delivery or flow that was more energetic from the Irish, just saying. There’s a lot of pointless censorship when it’s pretty clear what they’re saying, and the guys are obviously lipsyncing in the video so it’s not like this is some impressive off-the-cuff freestyle. I do like the incredibly deep voice Dbo has but it’s not interesting enough to carry his uninteresting flow and this really minimal, basic drill beat that works for its intended purpose to carry the bars but it does not make an impression further than that and by the end of the track, it’s just dull. I do admit to really liking the fourth guy Offica’s verses here because he has a lot more energy and intriguing flows than the rest of them; if any of this group get a solo career off the back of this I’d expect it to be him, or at least I’d hope so. Overall, though, I’m not a big fan although I don’t think this is bad, just unremarkable. If I thought it was bad, I think this episode would end up being posted posthumously anyway.

#52 – “Zero Zero” – dutchavelli

Produced by The Fanatix

Oh, hey, look! It’s more of the same. I imagine if you follow the US charts, you’d soon get tired of the trap garbage that somehow ends up on there in the lower reaches of the chart when it could be given to more promising mainstream-adjacent acts that end up just popping up on the Bubbling Under. Whilst I don’t really have the same problem with this chart, I am growing tired of UK drill music at this point and its indignant refusal to be interesting. It’s not like I have an issue with the music itself because I can usually ignore it, but does all of it really HAVE to chart? When it was new and relatively interesting I welcomed it but the sparse drum patterns, badly mixed 808s and “menacing” pianos are all very much getting on my nerves at this point in the year, especially when the chart is flooded with this stuff. For every weekly pathetic house-pop tune we get, we also get at least three drill “bangers”. Maybe the charts have just made me cynical. I should probably maybe rest before trying to continue this episode – I’ve given a notice on Twitter that grants me more time so I suppose I’ll get back to you when I’m not mindlessly ranting about drill music.

Alright, so I haven’t slept but Spotify has decided to function for now, and I guess I might as well use this opportunity to write about the last few arrivals. We all have our “off” days, and this was one of mine so I apologise if this episode isn’t up to scratch – even if admittedly, I’m telling myself that more than anyone else. Oh, and this song is actually kind of fun, with his really elegant strings that are backed up by some hard-hitting drill percussion that actually makes for a pretty hard beat here, especially with those extra sound effects. Seriously, props to the Fanatix for this, and dutchavelli actually brings a lot more energy than I expected, even on the ad-libs on the chorus, though of course, the content isn’t anything new. He is finding new and funny ways to talk about crack cocaine trafficking though, so I commend that. The skit is kind of pointless but I’m sure it makes sense in the album. That was quick! In fact, I’m going to try and be quick before I fall asleep.

#49 – “Spin this Coupe” – Abra Cadabra

Produced by H1K and Zenith

I’ve restarted Spotify so many times and I’ve restarted my computer at least thrice. This desktop app still refuses to function and this is a recent but bloody persistent problem. Maybe I should just re-download the Spotify app, but it does aggravate me that it does this when I’m supposed to be, you know, REVIEWING THE CHARTS. It’s not like it’s down for other people either, it just likes to freeze on me for no reason other than my own suffering. There’s a Dave song coming so I’ve kind of been raring to get to that but just to keep myself in check and on routine I suppose I need to listen to this garbage. I didn’t mind Abra Cadabra on the “BLM” song from a few weeks ago and I do like the semi-introspective tone he has lyrically here, showing some kind of self-awareness about the gang violence he discusses in his music. Lyrics like that are few and far between however and more often than not it’s just uninspired gunplay and some flexing over some drill type beat. I swear I’ve heard that exact same hi-hat sound and pattern so many times, and other than some overly-energetic ad-libs that make this shoddily-mixed track even uglier sounding, Abra Cadabra is not selling any of this, even when he does a more rapid-pace, energetic yelling flow. He’s not saying anything memorable and he’s only vaguely on beat. I mean, it’s fine but I’m sick of this already. There’s a preview of another song on the YouTube video for this song and I thought it was just another verse. Come on, lads, think of something else.

#35 – “Straight Murder (Giggs & David)” – Giggs featuring Dave

Produced by KeyzMusic

What an odd title. It’s like if I called this show REVIEWING THE CHARTS (Cactus), like we know your names, guys. Is this how they want to credit Dave as a co-lead artist or something? I’ve got no idea but this is our second and final track from Giggs’ Now or Never and thank God, it features Dave, a British rapper I really enjoy. His album PSYCHODRAMA was one of the best records I heard last year and I’ve consistently liked most of his stuff, specifically his brand of cool, relaxed flows and blunt, admittedly corny punchlines with a lot of conscious influence and cleverness that most of these drill guys wouldn’t dare to try and implement in their singles. He and J Hus form a crossroad between the mainstream British rap scene and more underground or alternative acts; he strikes me very much as a more accessible male Little Simz, a sharp lyricist with a lot of unique charm who knows how to have fun. In fact, the one thing I don’t think Dave can do convincingly is rap on a drill beat, or at least one like “Paper Cuts” where he just sounded sloppy. He also had a feature on a D-Block Europe song that was just comical, so I can’t say his recent efforts have been as good but that performance of “Black” at the BRITs really cemented him as one of the best British musicians in the charts right now for me and a lot of other people, so this acts as kind of a comeback single for him, even if it is just a throwaway feature track – there’s a reason this debuted so high. I do think this could stick around as well since Dave does have longevity. I still bump “Funky Friday” more than two years later, although to be fair that did hit #1. This won’t, but is it good? Yeah, this appeals to the part of me that just wants bars over a pretty solid, atmospheric trap beat, and Dave does sound checked-out at times but that’s always been a part of his casual, sliding delivery. There is a lot of empty space in his verse but it’s always played out for comedic effect I feel and while this is a flow he’s definitely used before, the sheer length of this verse means it would be difficult for him to have more hits and misses and yeah, his delivery makes nearly all of these lines hit. Compare the amount of Genius annotations on his verse to how many are on Giggs and you can see why I like this guy a lot more. He may be blunt but it has layers and layers of charm to it, and some of these bars are more than they look to be on the surface. Even his opening line about taking orders can be explained in various different ways: he knows about taking orders but he “doesn’t know” about taking orders, suggesting he doesn’t like taking orders, but what are these orders? They could be taking orders from a boss and now he’s a boss but they could also be about drug trafficking or sending out hits, and then he really “doesn’t know” about taking orders, if you catch my drift. Other than that, he uses his “Streatham” flow to mostly flex but there’s tons of wordplay and I appreciate that more than the boring matter-of-fact structure of verses that half of these other UK rappers have. He’s just effortlessly spitting here and I’ll take that any week but especially this week. Welcome back, Dave, I’m excited to see what you’ve got in store for your next album. Oh, and Giggs is here but who gives a –

#23 – “Confetti” – Little Mix

Produced by TM5

Surprisingly, no Little Mix songs penetrated the top 20, or at least no new ones. In fact, this is our only new song from the girls thanks to silly UK chart rules, and, really, it’s just here because it’s the title track. I can’t say much about Little Mix because I feel there’s nothing to discuss. The new album is something I have not bothered to listen to out of pure disinterest, and this title track... doesn’t seem like a title track. You’d think a title track would be a bit flashier than some dated DJ Mustard hyphy-like beat with pretty pitiful trap percussion and plastic vocal production that makes the girls sound admittedly less inhuman than usual. In fact, they sound more human here than ever, maybe because they’re surrounded by one of the stiffest R&B instrumentals I’ve ever heard, and partly because some of the background vocal melodies are actually pretty catchy, even if the chorus makes it clear that none of it matters since the non-existent pay-off is not worth any of the similarly void build-up. This is a fine, rather understated song where the girls mostly just flex – which is pretty unheard of for a dance-pop track – so I have no issue with it but this could have actually been good... and was once again watered down by manufactured factory-sealed production. Speaking of talented women being let down by production...

#22 – “pov” – Ariana Grande

Produced by Oliver Frid, TBHits and Mr. Franks

So we got the obviously planned pop smashes out of the way from Positions so now it’s time to see what the fans are really gravitating to and to my surprise, it’s the closer. This is the fan favourite from the record and is just now charting because “motive” dropped out and it’s clear why this one is the preferred track. It takes somewhat of an introspective outlook but very much through an immature, lovestruck tone running through the track and its really sweet lyrical content, where she just expresses how much her partner loves her to the point of her even feeling some bizarre envy in the chorus, as she wants to reach a level of self-love comparable to how her partner feels about her. She wants to see why her partner loves her this much despite what she perceives as tragic flaws. By the bridge, she reaches a conclusion that there isn’t any emotional baggage coming with this relationship anymore, a natural book-end to her “leaving her baggage at the door” in the opener of the album. I love the vocal melodies here, with her multi-tracked cooing really shining beautifully amongst the flourishes of strings and more subtle pianos, with trap-adjacent snapping percussion that is actually well implemented and adds a sense of casualness to the song that would otherwise perhaps seem too melodramatic for Ariana. Also, the last line in the chorus is admirable and it works as a perfect closer to the record.

Conclusion

So there is a single good song here, and that is “pov” by Ariana Grande which snags Best of the Week, and, sure, while I like Dave on “Straight Murder (Giggs & David)”, Giggs royally screws up so it can only get the Honourable Mention. For Worst of the Week it’s going to The Kid LAROI just in general for both “WITHOUT YOU” and “ALWAYS DO”, with the latter only being slightly more tolerable. I guess I can give the Dishonourable Mention to Giggs as well for whatever “Buff Baddies” is. Sigh... here’s this terrible week’s top 10.

Thank you for reading my uncharacteristically cynical and just mean ramblings on pop music this week. You can follow me @cactusinthebank on Twitter, I promise I’m not as angry on there. See you next week for hopefully something better than this.

[onestowatch]

1990nowhere Delivers Some Much Needed Nostalgia

I’ve always been a fan of Lostboycrow, Olivver The Kid, and Armors, so you can understand my excitement when I learned that they were coming together to create the new band, 1990nowhere. Their self-titled EP, 1990nowhere transports you into the past and wraps you with all the nostalgic feelings you’ve been yearning for. The three-piece band has brought the sounds of early-2000s pop rock, to the present, and has intertwined a unique indie twist throughout.

“Trying to stay level

Putting salt on snow

Someone get a shovel

Bury all my foes”

Every verse of their latest release, “Sundance Kid,” makes you want to chant and sing along. Whether you’re feeling happy, sad, or angry, this track presents you the opportunity to let go and be free. It’s not everyday you find a song that brings you solace and joy all at once, but 1990nowhere has hit the nail on the head and has provided a 4-track EP of just that.

We had the opportunity to sit down *virtually* with Chris, Bryan and Olen to discuss the making of their debut EP, how they came together as a new band, and what they hope to accomplish.

Ones to Watch: Congrats on releasing the final single “Sundance Kid” off your EP! Was there a specific reason you saved this track for last?

Bryan: “Sundance Kid” is definitely a special song for us. It has a lot of energy, and is a song we’re very excited to play live. We felt this would be a good one to end with to end on a high note - i feel like bands normally roll out their slower songs later and we wanted to end with potentially the most energetic on EP1.

Where does the name 1990nowhere come from?

Chris: I feel like most things floating around in my mind can serve one of three purposes. Song name. Band name. Album title. I'd had the name 1990nowhere in my back pocket around when we started making music together, unsure of which category it would fall under. After going through a couple joke names that didn’t stick Bryan reminded me of this name I’d mentioned to him and kind of forgotten about. It then seemed like the obvious choice - something that encapsulates who we are, the nostalgia and the dash of obscurity with which we approach our songs.

You each have your own artist project, Chris Blair (Lostboycrow, Asking For A Friend), Bryan Sammis (Olivver The Kid, La Bouquet), and Olen Kittelsen (Armors). What initiated the decision to join forces and create 1990nowhere and how did you all meet?

Bryan: Me, Sam (Producer) & Olen all met at a show years ago that La Bouquet & Armors played together. Shortly after we started working on some commercial work together. One fateful evening I brought Chris down to the studio to meet the boys. We made a song called “$20” that day in like 5 hours - from then on out it’s been so seamless it’s seemed like kind of a no-brainer. It’s so much fun, and comes so naturally that it seemed only right to share with the world and give this thing a fair shake.

Olen: We really approached the project, at least initially, without any real overarching goal or motivation other than just getting together to write songs with each other. I think that no-pressure mindset led to such an enjoyable process and I’m so glad it became 1990nowhere.

What inspired the nostalgic sound of the band?

Bryan: Personally I have always been enamored with nostalgia. It’s one of the strongest emotions one can feel (in my opinion). I think we started just doing what came naturally and at the time, Chris was bringing a lot of 90’s riffs to the table and I think the rest of us just naturally globbed onto that ear candy. Sometimes it’s more creative to work within a thinly laid set of minuscule parameters. It really has brought out the best in each of us.

You guys are each incredible singers and musicians, how do you decide who does what? What is the song writing process between the three of you?

Bryan: Thank you for saying that. I think it depends on the song & the part, the emotion, the vibe. A lot of it depends on who the song starts with & also who is feeling the strongest about that particular song. I like to think we are all capable of seeing who would fit best where & not getting too emotionally invested in having OUR part in a song. We all genuinely want what’s best for the song.

Chris: totally - It’s always been really effortless to come with an idea and know that two of your all time favorite singers/lyricists are sitting on either side of you to take an idea and run with it. Or vice versa. I think it comes down to a lot of trust and admiration for everyone in the room.

Olen: Echoing Bryan and Chris here but absolutely. It’s so awesome to belong to a group that is in equal parts support system and band. I love these dudes and getting to make music with them is a joyous experience. And in an environment like that, where there is nothing but trust, the end result is always something we’re collectively very proud of.

Is there a prominent message you hope your listeners take away from this EP?

Bryan: Friendship is important. Friendship is beautiful.

Chris: Solidarity. Boisterous fun. Solace.

Once the world is *eventually* back to a normal state, what do you hope to accomplish? Are there any tour discussions?

Chris: I think we all love taking our experience on the road into the studio - thinking what would be fun to sing or play live. Ultimately we wanna get on the road and stay on the road and be a family in a van spreading our message of love and friendship and losing guitar picks on stage.

Who are your Ones to Watch?

Bryan: Stretched, Jez Dior, 1990nowhere.

Olen: Fast Friends, Samia, Younger Hunger, Del Water Gap

Chris: babygirl, the band ice cream, honeywhip

[themousai]

Gig Review: Auckland Will Be Laid To Waste - Penrose Underground [27/07/2019]

Saturday July 27th saw an absolutely stacked lineup of ten bands along with several dozen attendees pile themselves into the Penrose Underground, a rehearsal space and DIY venue for Auckland Will Be Laid to Waste. Downfall Productions now have a few shows like this one under their belt, and their ambition to deliver massive lineups in tiny venues leaves me excited for the future. 

The show was MC’d by stalwarts of culture Real Slam Poetry, who offered their trademark guttural takes ranging from family relationships to excerpts from “Hot Rod” to a literal list of things to pack for a trip. Plus, can you name another band with branded vegan soap as merch? Didn’t think so.  

Opening the afternoon was high school rock and metal band Strattera. I’m not going to lie, I knew very little about Strattera before seeing them play, besides that they took part in Smokefree Rockquest this year. Since then I have learned [a] how to pronounce their name, and [b] that this band RIPS. A blend of 90s rock and classic metal bands, it blows me away that bands at this age are playing original material at this calibre. 

Even though their set was only four songs long, Strattera still made a solid impression via a combination of two things I think are sadly missing from New Zealand music; coordinated outfits and sweet, sweet guitar solos. Seriously, why do more bands not shred licks while all wearing the same colour? 

It goes without saying, Strattera are not just good “for a high school band”. They’re just an excellent band full stop. If the up and coming generation of NZ musicians is half as tight as these guys, we have some incredible tunes coming. Watch this band take over. 

For fans of Metallica, Rammestein and Smashing Pumpkins.

Next up came the delightful as always Melanie. It’s hard for me to imagine a hypothetical lineup on which Melanie wouldn’t be a highlight. If they’re on the bill, they’re one of the best bands on the bill. I’ve been lucky enough to catch the West Auckland grunge/punk outfit once before and this time round was just as joyous as the first. Infectiously catchy, bouncy and undeniably fun. 

Even though they were second on the bill, I think Melanie actually drew the biggest crowd of the day, and weren’t afraid to jump in the mosh, guitars and all. Refreshingly, there is absolutely nothing to suggest that this band take themselves or their music too seriously. 

Everything about their sound elicits a carefree, fun energy.  Like skateboarding in the sun, or sitting with your toes in the sand, or staggering home after a night out with a smile on your face.  Any chance you have to catch Melanie live, take it. 

For fans of Pup, Bad Luck and Third Eye Blind.

The show then took a turn for the slam. Parasitic Infestation seem to have a formula for truly impressive live show. It seems like an obvious thing, but I said a silent prayer of thanks to the deathcore gods whenever Parasitic transitioned so seemlessly from blastbeats and slam riffs into a properly chunky breakdown, chugs and bends and all. 

As such, Parasitic win the accolade of first pit of the day. Fun fact: vocalist Liam Hand is somewhat of a musical marvel. He has an ordinary human mouth, like anyone else. However, where mere mortals have a throat with a pair of lungs, Liam just has some kind of wormhole into the deepest, darkest pits of hell, producing the most guttural, ungodly sounds with almost no effort. 

If any of your favourite genres include the word “brutal”, Parasitic Infestation will leave you wanting for nothing. 

For fans of Ingested, Devourment and early Whitechapel.

Continuing and arguably stepping up the heaviness next up was Once Foretold. The first time I saw this band live, they introduced themselves by saying “we’re Once Foretold, we play djent”. And that is exactly what they do. 

However, they go one step further into my good books by not falling into the traps that pervade the genre. Overly long spacey interlude tracks? None. Out of place sample tracks? Not here. Half tempo breakdowns so slow that they grind the show to a glacial pace? Nowhere to be heard. 

Once Foretold seem to have distilled the best parts of the genre’s biggest names without getting mired in its clichés, and the crowd clearly appreciated it. The monstrous riffs, huge breakdowns and immense energy this band have to offer speaks for itself, with no frills. 

For fans of Architects, After the Burial and Structures.

Following on from slam and djent came Chasing South. The oddly labelled “DIY punk” band [which I choose to think stands for “destroy it yourself” given their propensity for wrecking stages] have been putting in that work for almost a decade now. Anyone who’s been following the band all this time can attest to just how much of a niche Chasing South have carved themselves as the only band alive who sounds quite like them. 

Drawing from post hardcore, metalcore, punk and mathcore in kind, the melting pot bubbles and fizzes with energy that the crowd immediately gravitated to, with a pit opening wide almost immediately. My favourite part of seeing this band perform is the mix of material their back catalog has to offer, from the bouncy singalongs to thrashy breakdowns to somber, melodic palate cleansers. 

This band’s ability to move a crowd has never been more apparent, and with another album on the way I have no doubt audiences are in for treats aplenty. Extra points for covering Norma Jean’s “Sword In Mouth / Fire Eyes”.  

For fans of Showbread, Every Time I Die and Touche Amore

Next up was capital city metalcore outfit Severed Beliefs. This is a passion project featuring members of Wellington bands Nailgun and Deadringer, playing a distinctly 90′s influenced mode of metalcore without being scared to experiment with everything the genre implies. 

By definition, 90s metalcore is a mashup of scratchy and harsh with melodic and clean, artistic emotion with unfettered aggression. Severed Beliefs deliver on this in spades, and after releasing their self titled demo a few months back have made a clear statement of intent regarding the direction they hope to head. 

Also, extra points for the evening’s second Norma Jean cover and the show’s namesake, “Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste”. There is no such thing as a bad Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste cover. Prove me wrong. 

For fans of Renounced, 7 Angels 7 Plagues and early Misery Signals

Another personal highlight of the evening, Long Distance Runner are one of those hard-to-categorize bands to which no genre label seems to do complete justice. As a result, anything I say about them is likely to sell short the talent this band demonstrates mere moments into any set they perform. The emotion of post hardcore with the ridiculous pace and technicality of mathcore and even sprinklings of powerviolence create a sound specific to Long Distance Runner.  

Their performance ebbed and flowed through blastbeats, droning guitars and wounded howling vocals combining in a wall of sound that you just want to smash your metaphorical head against. Having been fortunate enough to catch them a few times, I’ve noticed that there are almost never moshpits when Long Distance Runner play. Saturday was no different, with most of the audience stood rooted to the spot fixated on the frantic and beautifully abrasive performance, before the band suddenly stopped and exclaimed “here for a good time, not a long time”. Clearly I wasn’t the only one caught off guard and hoping for more. For fans of Pg. 99, Converge, and Baptists

Second to last on the bill came post hardcore and Neon Genesis fans REI. I’ll be the first to admit to having a massive soft spot for mid 2000s post hardcore. Lucky for me, the Auckland five piece have used it as a jumping off point to explore a more experimental and progressive sound than the genre suggests. Saturday’s performance reminded me why this band’s exploration of their distinct sound is so pleasing to both long-time fans of the genre and total newcomers alike. 

Their songwriting relies on the best aspects of the genre without becoming generic or predictable. Something I found to distinguish this performance from the band’s previous ones was the vocal delivery being noticeably harsher and more aggressively delivered. You could put this down to the vocalist Lily, powerhouse that he is, having run the show all day and performed an earlier set on bass with Once Foretold. 

Whatever the reason, this instance struck me as a more unique and personal performance from Rei and one I hope will be emulated in future. 

For fans of Underoath, early Dance Gavin Dance and A Lot Like Birds

Closing out the evening to what remained of an exhausted crowd was five piece melodic hardcore sad boys Take Hold. This band has never really played at this end of bill, having mainly existed on opening slots since their first show late last year. One EP and maybe a dozen shows later, they’ve been hard at work honing their live show to balance heaviness and energy, all the while focusing on playing as fast and as tightly as possible. While most of their set consisted of the expected frantic punk beats and twosteps, the forays into heavier end of the spectrum went down well with the crowd, if the amount of crowd slaying is anything to go by. It’s good to see that a typically opening band can make an audience stick around till the very last act and make it worth their while. They closed their set with a new song, their heaviest to date and barely a minute long. Also, being the last band of the night, they were asked for an encore by maybe two people. They declined. They’d run out of songs. 

For fans of Counterparts, Dead Swans and Carpathian. 

Once again Lily Mou of Downfall Productions managed to organise and execute a massive showcase of New Zealand’s alternative talent. Ten bands on a single bill is almost begging for huge delays, technical difficulties and no-shows, and yet the crew succeeded in delivering an awesome gig for the all ages scene. Downfall have been going strength to strength with their big bill / small space shows, and I have no doubt there are huge things in store. 

Review written by Jai Aronsen Photography by Andrew Cooksley + Mandie Hailwood

[nova-writes]

10 Albums That Made A Lasting Impression During Your Teenage Years

I lived my Teen years (13-19) right in the middle of the Aughts, 2002 through 2008. That was an interesting time for music. Emo revival was just starting and Hardcore bands of the 90′s were starting to figure out what came next for them. I’m sure pop music was doing interesting things, but I was adamantly opposed to pop music as teenage, so there won’t be much of that.

The only Rule™ for this list (because lists need rules), is to use only one Album per Artist/Band. I will also try to go chronologically, but if you’re playing along at home, you make your list however you want. The “Chronogality” (that’s a world, don’t look it up) might get a bit skewed because, as I previously mentioned, I tended to shy away from popular music, so some of the albums didn’t come out during this time frame, it’s just when I discovered them.

On with the list!

2002

Gorillaz - S/T (2001)

Okay, so right out the gate I’m cheating. The brainchild of musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett came out just before I was a teen in 2001. But the virtual band consisting of 2-D, Murdoc, Russel, and Noodle illustrated by Hewlett was one of the first bands I discovered for myself. And I didn’t discover it until it had been out for a while.

Largely to do with their interactive flash animated website and bizarre music videos, their music and artistic style largely influenced my own art and led me to discover Tank Girl, Hewletts comic book series.

You might be thinking “Didn’t they say they didn’t listen to pop music? Their first pick is a pop group, what’s going on here?” To which I remind you I said there wouldn’t be much of that, not none at all. This was also “Phase 1″ of the Gorillaz master plan, entitled Celebrity Take Down, so that resonated with me. Also, the Gorillaz may enjoy some commercial success, but at this point they were still largely an indie group, collaborating with Hip Hop artists, producers, and indie rappers (Kid Koala, Dan the Automator, and Del the Funky Homosapien respectively). Also, revisiting this album later on led me to discover Del’s other project Deltron 3030.

2003

AFI - Sing the Sorrow (2003)

2003 was the year I discovered the color black, and I’ve never worn another color since (exaggeration, but not by much). This is also when I started to struggle with depression and other feelings and the goth-punk songs written by singer Davey Havok, bassist Hunter Burgan, guitarist Jade Puget, and drummer Adam Carson spoke to my early teen angst.

My introduction to AFI came from seeing the video for Girls Not Grey on the music channel Fuse (formally Much Music). I then probably pirated the music, because it was the 00′s, but I did also eventually buy a copy of the Album. This was also the first commercially successful for harcore-group-turned-goth band AFireInside.

AFI was the group that bonded my first real best friend and I together. We were both obsessed with the album, and we were determined to start a band (which we did and it was terrible). Together we worked our way through their back catalog and eventually discovered punk and hardcore music.

Minor Threat - Out of Step (1983)

After listening to Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes by AFI and learning of the existence of Hardcore music, it wasn’t long before I discovered the “Big Three” of 80′s hardcore punk music: Black Flag, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat.

The icon art of Raymond Pettibon for Black Flag is still something that influences my art and Bad Brains influences many of my favorite bands and I appreciate them much more today, but Minor Threat’s anger is something that really resonated with me at the time. They definitely shaped the sound of the next band I was in, which was only a little better of an attempt than my first band.

Strangely enough, the Straight Edge mentality that is extremely prevalent throughout Minor Threats music never really took hold on me, but their other messages were clear to me, we’re outsiders and we’re taking a stand for what we believe in.

2004

My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004)

After my band broke up, I got pretty sick of the monotony of 80’s hardcore music (get over it, it’s boring). I was still pretty goth, even if I was a hardcore kid, so the second album by MCR was the perfect pop-punk answer to my jaded hardcore sensibilities, with Gerard Way’s long black hair and makeup, guitarist Frank Iero & bassist Mikey Way’s emo-hair, and lead guitarist Ray Toro & drummer Matt Pelissier’s heavy riffs and fast tempo playing.

Three Cheers remains one of my favorite guilty pleasure albums. I got made fun of a lot by my hardcore friends and ex-bandmates for liking them, but my lifelong friend Nyk and I would drive around (with my newly acquired license) and sing along to “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” at the top of our lungs. Sorry about outing you, Nyk.

The Blood Brothers - Crimes (2004)

After cleansing my hardcore pallet with emo music, I discovered The Blood Brothers seminal album Crimes. It was a perfect mix of the hardcore music I had started my teens with and the more theatrical emo music. Jordan Blilie’s soulful crooning and shrill scream and Johnny Whitney, whose voice has been described as “a child being tortured”, battle over lead vocal duties with Cody Votolato, Mark Gajadhar, and Morgan Henderson rounding out the instrumentalists (they all play multiple instruments), The Blood Brothers are a force to be reckoned with.

I didn’t know hardcore music could sound like this. I learned people called it “post-hardcore” usually lower case like that. The Blood Brothers and the label they were on, Three One G, led me to many other bands that I loved.

I’m pretty proud to say that between 2004 and 2007 when they broke up, I never missed a show when they came to town. Their live performances were extremely energetic. You could feel the electricity in the air.

2005

Modern Life Is War - My Love, My Way (2003)

In 2005 MLIW released the album Witness, which is a fantastic album and I contemplated putting it on here instead, but in anticipation of the new album coming out I listened My Love fairly constantly. My hardcore friends were already fans of Modern Life, but it wasn’t until 2005 that I discovered them.

It’s hard to say how important My Love, My Way is to me without sounding cliche, but this album honestly saved my life. I had been struggling with my depression and Jeff Eaton told me it’s okay, I am too, but we’ll get through this. I’ll let the lyrics speak for themselves.

“We’ve been to the edge and we know what it’s like to want to die, and that’s something we won’t glorify. We’ll leave those miserable times behind. How far can I go? I’m rising from the depths of my own hell. I don’t need another tragic tale, I need the strength to walk the other way. I found conviction in my ever changing mind. I grew up tied down and bleeding on the inside, but I know I was a victim of my own device, and I want to live to see a brand new life.”

Modern Life Is War is another band that I went to every show I could. Even driving to Marshalltown, Iowa to see their Farewell Show. Their breakup didn’t last long as they got back together in 2013 to release another album and play more shows. They are still going strong now.

2006

Tegan and Sara - So Jealous (2006)

Sisters Sara and Tegan Quinn playing heartfelt indie songs about break-ups is exactly what I needed in 2006 when my first serious partner dumped me. Even listening to it now as I write this, it’s bringing up memories of feeling heartbroken and that every song is specifically about you.

Where do you go with your broken heart in tow? How do you know when to let go? Where does the good go??

Everyone who has experienced love and a hard break-up should listen to this album. Do that and tell me it’s not perfect.

Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica (2000)

2006-2007 was my senior year of high school, and I was lucky enough to have a pretty incredible art program at my school. I had teachers who were actually working artists and forced us as students to create better and better art. They treated us like artists and it was the first time I felt like an adult was giving me any respect.

My studio art teacher was a huge fan of Modest Mouse and would play their music during class. This was the golden age of the iPod, so I soon had Good News For People Who Love Bad News and The Moon & Antarctica and listened to it even while not in class. It was also one of the first Vinyl albums I ever bought.

Twangy guitars playing over Isaac Brock’s strange voice singing about the concept of being an asshole and that everyone has the capability of fucking you over. What’s not to love? And the deeply critical song “A Different City” about the escapism of moving away and the terrifying reality of failing. A great song to listen to when you’re making your plans to move out on your own for the first time.

2007

Against Me! - Searching For A Former Clarity (2005)

After graduating high school with limited interest in attending college, my parents bought me a laptop as incentive to apply. I did and went for about one semester before dropping out, but now I had my own computer, so that was a pretty good trade off.

I ended up putting three AM! Albums and one Mischief Brew album on my computer and I listened to them constantly. I didn’t have internet access at my house during 2007 so that was the only music I had. Against Me! became my favorite band. Laura Jane Grace’s take on punk-rock and anarchy shaped my worldview.

I didn’t realize then why Laura’s music was so important to me beyond the anarchist politics until years later in 2012 when she came out as a transgender woman. In 2007 I was starting to understand where so much of my depression was coming from. So listening to Against Me! songs about dealing with the same issues and feeling was a great feeling of commiseration.

Looking back now, the songs only make more sense. Even if I didn’t know it at the time Against Me! was speaking to me about deeply personal issues, even if subconsciously.

2008

the Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride (2008)

The album that introduced me to the Mountain Goats! I’m really not that cool, so I don’t really know about awesome people like John Darnielle and how he’s been writing music since I was 5. But I heared the song Heretic Pride on the indie radio station and instantly fell in love with them.

Heretic Pride is not my favorite Mountain Goats album (that would be Tallahassee) but it’s the first one I heard at 19 years old and their literary songs have made me strive to make my own writing better.

It’s also the album that I tried to show to my future partner (we started dating in 2009) to try and impress her. She, of course, was a fan already because she’s much cooler than I am. She then proceeded to show me the extensive discography of the Mountain Goats (15 albums) and the rest of the Modest Mouse catalog just for good measure.

Well, there’s my 10 Albums. There are a few more I would like to add if I could pick more than ten. Like Dumby by Portishead, De-Loused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta, and Pass The Flask by The Bled all squished in there somewhere. But I won’t cheat and have a list of 13 albums. That would be wrong...