#Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties

[spankymerve]

35 Songs I Liked in 2019

35 Songs I Liked in 2019

As I’ve done in previous years, I’m doing a rundown of some of my favourite songs of 2019. I feel like my top albums list doesn’t always give a full picture of the kind of stuff I was listening to in a year. For one, this list is a lot weebier. As usual, this isn’t really my “top 35.” I’ve limited myself to one song per artist, just to keep things interesting. (more…)

[jeremythejirachi]

Prenatt’s Picks: 100 Artists To Check Out In 2020 (Part 3)

Prenatt’s Picks: 100 Artists To Check Out In 2020 (Part 3)

Only seven weeks left to go.

Here at Punk Goes Prenatt, for the next 10 weeks, I’ll give you 100 artists that you need to tune your attention to throughout 2020. This list will feature numerous acts from numerous genres.

This is part three of ten. If you didn’t read the previous list, click here.

Lizzy Farrall

Hometown: Chester, UK

Out Now: Barbados – EP (Pure Noise)

For Fans Of: The 1975,…

[fuckyeahqueermusic]

FY!QM’s Favorite Releases of 2019 Part 1

I know you were all waiting with bated breath for my annual list of favorite releases from the year and I apologize for the delay. December and January were trash months at my job and I had zero energy to write, but as of today that is all over! So as a gift to myself I finally finished writing this up. Let’s pretend I just had to think really really hard about my favorites and that’s why it took so long.

Part 1 is all the releases that I really liked, but either a.) are kinda honorable mention material or b.) I couldn’t think of a ton to write about it lol. They’re in no particular order because I do not care! You should go listen to all these! The usual disclaimer applies: these are just my favorite records from this year, I am no authority on what is the best and what isn’t, I just am an expert on what I like, and it’s this shit. All album titles link to my favorite song off of each record on bandcamp because I hate Spotify a lot even though I begrudgingly use it.

Part 2 will come out tomorrow because I really want to capitalize on the Super Bowl, y’know?

The Menzingers — Hello Exile I think it is safe to say at this point that The Menzingers is one of guitar music’s most consistently good acts. They are passionate sing-a-long creating machines, and with Hello Exile they gave us a new heap of them to yell along to at their shows. And having seen them play some of these live, I can confirm they are perfect for that setting.

My only criticism of Hello Exile might be that it doesn’t go anywhere unexpected, and the band is maybe a little too comfortable in the niche they’ve found for themselves. Though I guess there is something to be said for doing what you know and doing it incredibly well. But these guys are great songwriters, and I’d love to see them push themselves a little harder to evolve.

Empath  — Active Listening: Night on Earth I saw Empath open for Touche Amore and La Dispute a few months back and had no idea what to expect, but they fucking RIPPED and were far and away the best band on that bill (no offense to LD or TA. Actually maybe to LD; one of them had a fucking himalayan salt lamp sitting on their amp).

But anyways, Empath is fucking weird and chaotic and so much fucking fun, with bizarre synth textures, harsh guitar, and absolutely frantic drumming. And this album is all over the place, holding itself together with a through line of nature samples, bringing small moments of calm and a chance to breathe before everything comes crashing down again. I’d love to see them at a headlining show full of their fans, because this is music that deserves that kind of energy.

Catbite — S/T I love ska and I will never apologize. Catbite is one of the most exciting new ska bands out there. They’ve only been around for two years, but they’ve already found their niche and solidified their identity as a heavily second wave influenced band that grew up in the third wave, who are the forefront of the fourth. They’re the future of ska and I am so pumped to see them eventually get the full recognition they deserve in this genre.

Future Teens — Heartbreak Season I truly cannot believe “Frequent Crier” bops as hard as it does. This song about all the places to cry while you lament a relationship that ended years ago will have you dancing while you weep, and that pretty much sums up Future Teens’ whole deal. This album can gut you, but you’ll be so busy bopping along you won’t even mind.

Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties — Routine Maintenance  I know it’s cheating, but you should just read what Spencer wrote about this album; he put it perfectly. While I don’t immediately love this one as much as We Don’t Have Each Other (I love a divorce album and it is a top tier divorce album), it is the better record, and I’m so glad Aaron has started to figure out his new place in the world and that Dan Campbell is telling us his story.

Aly & AJ — Sanctuary  The cover of this EP is truly one of the worst album covers I have ever seen. I like to describe it to people as “naked opera gloves milk bath. Also they are SISTERS.” Every art direction decision they have made for this EP has been truly bonkers! But despite the horrendous, horrendous cover, Aly & AJ have come through with a tremendous set of jams once again! I am not sure how it happened, but between 2017’s Ten Years and this EP, they have become one of my favorite pop acts, creating mid-tempo synthy jam after mid-tempo synthy jam. They are far from reinventing the pop wheel, but they have figured out their niche and perfected it. If you haven’t listened to Aly & AJ since “Potential Break Up Song,” it’s time to dive back in, because you’ve been missing some of the most solid pop made in the 2010’s. (Also, they believe in evolution now it’s FINE). 

Sleater-Kinney — The Center Won’t Hold Okay, so this one is a cheat, because The Center Won’t Hold is not one of my favorite albums of the year, but the more time I spend with it, the more it has become my most respected album of the year.

I don’t really like this record, but I do think it is a great album. It is ambitious and surprising, a huge departure from their previous work, which critics and fans much smarter than me have examined at length. Sleater-Kinney could’ve easily crafted another album like No Cities To Love, which itself was an evolution from the sound they departed with on 2006’s The Woods, but it was an evolution that felt natural. It was easy to see point A to point B. With The Center Won’t Hold, point C is way on the other side of the map, and there is no easily discernible direct route. And while whatever is happening on this record isn’t totally my thing, I respect that they took a big swing. It’s a huge shame that it cost them Janet Weiss, though, and I don’t know if that is a loss they’ll ever truly recover from

[m3t4ln3rd]

Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties announces fall U.S. tours with Steady Hands and Chase Huglin

Lineup: , Steady Hands, Chase Huglin, Dry Jacket (select dates), Shortly (select dates), Allison Weiss (select dates), and Norwegian Arms (select dates) Tickets: AaronWestAndTheRoaringTwenties.com 11/03 – Oneonta, NY | SUNY Oneonta * 11/04 – Pawtucket, RI | The Met * 11/05 – Amityville, NY | Amityville Music Hall * 11/07 – Toronto, ON | Hardluck * 11/08 – Columbus, OH | The Basement * 11/09 –…

[the-poet-and-the-pauper]

Oh I wouldn't quite call it 'Homesick', But I keep seeing your face in the northbound traffic

Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties (Runnin’ Scared) 

[beginagain--]

Hopeless Records Announces Acoustic Livestream, 'This Is Hopeless (Kinda) Live!'

Hopeless Records Announces Acoustic Livestream, ‘This Is Hopeless (Kinda) Live!’

So, there’s going to be some more Acoustic Livestreams!

Hopeless Records have announced, ‘This Is Hopeless (Kinda) Live!’

This will feature both acoustic performances and a Q&A with Stand Atlantic, Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties and more!

Point North, Super Whatevr, Vaines, Between You & Me and WSTR are also set to make an appearance.

  We proudly present….. This Is Hopeless (Kinda) Live! An…

[aaronthastings]

My Year in Music 2015 - March

My Year in Music 2015 – March

From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny – March was a month of adventure, and of discovery.  If February was an exercise in self-discovery, then the subsequent months were sheer execution, and pushing myself to new limits, in a quest to find out just how far I’d be willing to go. A large portion of my month was spent meditating, and visualising. Looking back over old tweets, it’s clear that…

[earthtotrisha]

"Well I spent my whole life saying I'd never need no one but I think I might need you."

[spankymerve]

30 Songs I Liked in 2016

30 Songs I Liked in 2016

I know this is extremely late, but better late than never, right? Here are my top 30 songs of 2016, listed in alphabetical order by artist, with a limit of one per artist. (more…)

[jeremythejirachi]

Riot Fest Announce Late Night Shows, Unveil Full Lineup

Riot Fest Announce Late Night Shows, Unveil Full Lineup

It’s been a while since Riot Fest gave us a giant update, but they finally delivered again.

Not only did the festival unveil the full lineup, but they also announced late night shows. “Riot Fest may end at 10:00 p.m. each night, but we know that this is when the night’s just getting started for many of you,” the festival posted on Facebook.

Sum 41, Direct Hit!, and K.Flay will be doing late night…

[anxious-arms]

Borrowed Chords - Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties (ft. Dan Campbell of The Wonder Years)

[spankymerve]

My Favourite Albums of 2014

My Favourite Albums of 2014

2014 is coming to a close, and that means it’s year-end list-making time! (Woohoo!) First up: my favourite albums. I listened to quite a bit of music in 2013, but this year, thanks to getting hardcore into Spotify, I listened to more music than ever before: 114 albums, to be exact. Some were mediocre, but most were pretty good, which made narrowing down the list to a top 20 difficult. (more…)