#West Virginia punk rock

[nugothrhythms]

"Dopamine" by Charleston, West Virginia-based dark post-punk and indie goth band Static Fur off of their 2020 release Sorry Future

[comikbook]

“fatherless” actually my dad is an old punk rock farmer who grew up in the city moved to west virginia and gets drunk while listening to hardcore music on full volume in the middle of nowhere while cooking him and his dog big meals and watching movies on dvd. and he fucking rules.

[miloinouterspace]

Made a modern Charles playlist before I do a deep dive into his music taste from when he was alive

I would love to know your thoughts!!

Spotify Link:

The playlist in list form:

Charles Rowland- Modernish Edition

Mostly modern songs I think he would listen to; contains ska, punk, alt rap, indie rock, plus some extras I've thrown in as a treat to myself

☆ Black Sheep - Brie Larson Vocal Version

Metric, Brie Larson

☆ The Three of Us

Streetlight Manifesto

☆ This Year

The Mountain Goats

☆ ***HIDDEN TRACK***

Prince Daddy & The Hyena

☆ Cannibal

Tally Hall

☆ P.S. I Hate You

Reel Big Fish

☆ Fluorescent Adolescent

Arctic Monkeys

☆ Cringe

Matt Maeson

☆ Fistfight

Ballroom Thieves

☆ Everything Went Numb

Streetlight Manifesto

☆ No Children

The Mountain Goats

☆ Lonely Eyes

The Front Bottoms

☆ The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton

The Mountain Goats

☆ But Not Often,

Microwave

☆ one sick plan

Oso Oso

☆ Average Man

Scott Klopfenstein

☆ Always Sayin'

The Littlest Man Band

☆ Love Me Dead

Ludo

☆ Freakish

Saves The Day

☆ BCKYRD

Hot Mulligan

☆ I Think Your Nose Is Bleeding

The Front Bottoms

☆ Girl Anachronism

The Dresden Dolls

☆ L.G. FUAD

Motion City Soundtrack

☆ Bae

The Front Bottoms

☆ Disappear

Motion City Soundtrack

☆ Everything I Own

The Front Bottoms

☆ Last You Heard Of Me

Joyce Manor

☆ Cough It Out

The Front Bottoms

☆ Everything Is Alright

Motion City Soundtrack

☆ Laugh Till I Cry

The Front Bottoms

☆ Point / Counterpoint

Streetlight Manifesto

☆ Plastic Flowers

The Front Bottoms

☆ The Future Freaks Me Out

Motion City Soundtrack

☆ The Big Sleep

Streetlight Manifesto

☆ The Feud

The Front Bottoms

☆ My Favorite Accident

Motion City Soundtrack

☆ We Are The Few

Streetlight Manifesto

☆ Rhode Island

The Front Bottoms

☆ When You're Around

Motion City Soundtrack

☆ Lone Star

The Front Star

☆ A Better Place, a Better Time

Streetlight Manifesto

☆ Funny You Should Ask

The Front Bottoms

☆ Attractive Today

Motion City Soundtrack

☆ West Virginia

The Front Bottoms

☆ Such Great Heights

Streetlight Manifesto (Cover)

☆ Somebody Else

The Front Bottoms

☆ Make Out Kids

Motion City Soundtrack

☆ Skeleton

The Front Bottoms

☆ Take The Reigns

Tsunami Bomb

☆ 2YL

The Front Bottoms

☆ Chain Me Free

The Matches

☆ Today Is Not Real

The Front Bottoms

☆ I Love/You Suck

Reel Big Fish

☆ HELP

The Front Bottoms

☆ Bank of America

Corporate Hearts

☆ Backflip

The Front Bottoms

☆ Brave as a Noun

AJJ

☆ Be Nice To Me

The Front Bottoms

☆ Death of a Bachelor

Panic! At The Disco

☆ Twin Size Mattress

The Front Bottoms

☆ Plate Glass Apology

Apes of the State

☆ jerk

The Front Bottoms

☆ Maple Syrup

Backseat Lovers

☆ Summer Shandy

The Front Bottoms

☆ Tear in My Heart

Twenty One Pilots

☆ Flashlight

The Front Bottoms

☆ Apartment

Corporate Hearts

☆ Maps

The Front Bottoms

☆ I Dare You To Break My Heart

Reel Big Fish

☆ Anime Theme Song

Mom Jeans.

☆ Punisher

Reel Big Fish

☆ Houdini

Eminem

☆ Chapter 319

clipping.

☆ Toy Story

Token

☆ Everyone Else Is An Asshole

Reel Big Fish

☆ SISTER

Token

☆ Scott Pilgrim vs. My GPA

Mom Jeans.

☆ She's Not The End Of The World

Reel Big Fish

[skeeverboy]

hi i'm skeeverboy and here's my review of every tfb album (not including singles or eps but maybe i will at some point)

I Hate My Friends (2008)

despite being their first and least finished albums, it is one of my fav albums of all time. it's unique and definitely not for everyone, but the garage/basement sound and unique vocals are so charming. it has this whole immature feeling in both instrumentation and lyrics that i'm just obsessed with. i really like the background vocals and the entire shouty kind of singing this one has.

fav track: push-ups

rating: 9.5/10

My Grandma Vs. Pneumonia (2009)

very similar in sound and vibe to IHMF, with the same acoustic recorded-in-someone's-basement feeling (this is because both albums were in fact recorded in random basements and garages). it feels a little more finished than IHMF, and the songs have a bit of a different vibe that i don't know how to explain. ultimately though i put it in the same category as IHMF and frequently forget which songs are in which albums.

fav track: the bass is too loud

rating: 9/10

The Front Bottoms (2011)

absolutely amazing album. it has all the charm of the first 2, with significantly more development and more of a finished feeling. it starts off with an amazing first track and there's really not a dud on this album at all. both versions of the cover art are beautiful. the lyrics in this album are just like some of my favorite of all time and often times soul crushing. i love it. enough said.

fav track: looking like you just woke up

rating: 10/10

Talon of the Hawk (2013)

another absolute banger. it has a lot of the same vibes as self titled, though it started getting a lot higher energy. while still angsty and gut-punching, it's also a lot easier to jam out to than their self-titled, with more electric guitar featured and absolutely banger choruses. maybe a little bit overrated, but a great album nonetheless.

fav track: santa monica

rating: 9/10

Back On Top (2015)

another one of my favorites. it's nearly completely abandoned the more acoustic feeling, aside from chunks of songs like the beginning of West Virginia. pretty much every song can be either cried to or rocked out to in the car. even though there is one song on this album that i kind of hate (summer shandy) the rest of them more than make up for it. fun electric guitar parts, the epic wind section in 2YL, the hard hitting lyrics in songs like Plastic Flowers, it's all just amazing.

fav track: ginger

rating: 10/10

Going Grey (2017)

everyone hates me for my opinion on this album but ultimately it's just kind of meh for me. it's not bad, but it's my least favorite TFB album. the entire sound of the album isn't my favorite, and at times the vocals feel a little dull, which i mean the vocals are like the number one reason why i love the front bottoms. some of the lyrics leave something to be desired, especially considering past songs.

i don't hate the album though. it's high energy, really transitioned TFB into IS&IF and YAWYHOW smoothly. it has a lot of good songs while remaining pretty true to the core TFB sound.

fav track: trampoline

rating: 7.5/10 (don't crucify me please)

In Sickness & In Flames (2020)

ok on my tier list i admit i ranked this one way too low. it pushed the band into a new direction, with the autotune and the way more developed and finished sounding instrumentals. pretty much every song is high energy and catchy. it strays way more into the pop side of tfb's pop punk/emo sound, which is fine but not exactly my thing. i think they do it in a really graceful way though and most songs on here are bangers

fav track: bus beat

rating: 8/10

You Are Who You Hang Out With (2023)

this one is significant for me because it was their first full-length album they released while i was actively a huge fan. it was exciting and i heard a few of the songs before the album's release live, so i'm definitely biased in this one. the autotune is a little weird, but it works for me. the mix between brian's unique voice and the autotune and just the general sound of it are really good.

i'll admit it did take me a minute for it to grow on me, especially as an early tfb girlie, but grow on me it did. outlook and batman both feel like really nice tie-backs to the older sound, almost sounding like they're from TOTH or back on top?? and the newer, weirder songs (i'm looking at you Paris) work really well with the sound of album and such.

fav track: batman

rating: 9.5/10

[cryptidkeepp]

(maxence danet fauvel) [THE LOST SOUL]. Please welcome [REMINGTON ‘REMI’ DUMAS (HE/THEY)] to Huntsville, WV. They are an [27]-year-old [VISITOR] who lives in [THE COMMUNE]. You may see them around working as a [STOCK WORKER AT 7-ELEVEN]. Poor unfortunate soul. We’ll see if they survive.

GENERAL.

full name: remington alexandre jean dumas

nicknames: remi, rem, du hast

title: the lost soul

hunter / gatherer: neither

birthplace: lyon, france

gender / pronouns: demiboy, he/they

age / birthday: 27, july 7th

orientations: pansexual, panromantic

occupation: former musician, stock worker at 7-eleven

location: commune, visitor

status: chem testing

family: margot dumas ( mother, unknown ), jules dumas ( father, unknown ), guy dumas ( uncle ), james anderson ( uncle )

strengths: creative, independent, adaptable, charismatic, driven

weaknesses: moody, pessimistic, gullible, rebellious, impulsive

character inspo: jane margolis (breaking bad), rue bennett (euphoria), nick miller (new girl), jason mendoza (the good place), natalie (yellowjackets), darlene (mr. robot), philip j. fry (futurama), satine (moulin rouge!), greg hirsch (succession)

BIOGRAPHY.

tw: abandonment, mental illness

born in france to parents who were never meant to be parents. they were involved in shady things, theft for certain but besides that remington never got a real answer about it. what he did know is that at the age of six they dropped him off with his father's brother and his partner in los angeles.

despite remi being thrust into their lives without warning, their uncles never cast them out but they weren't always the most attentive guardians but they did the best they could. they also encouraged remington to explore the arts and chase their dreams, which is what turned them toward music and enhanced their passion for it. from the age of nine they spent everyday practicing guitar, sometimes for hours at a time.

music was their lifeblood. which in school they often felt like a loner and an outcast, they didn’t keep friends for long or make friends at all in some cases which further contributed to their abandonment and trust issues. they would go through long bouts of depression, getting highs and lows at random. it made it hard to build any sort of confidence. he tried to tell himself it didn't matter. and eventually it didn't, eventually he joined a band and actually managed to make it through high school.

being in los angeles allowed him a lot more opportunities than he would have had in the rest of the world. he joined the punk rock band thrift store lingerie not long before he graduated and they rose to mediocre fame within a few years. enough to score a recording contract and get set up with a smaller label.

they began touring the country, made a few videos and albums. they were no sex pistols, but they did alright and remi was having the time of their life traveling, playing shows, partying, and meeting fans. it was like a dream come true and the band was like family to him. but as their track record went with family, the band split after their final tour date in new york city in the fall of 2023.

that shifted everything for remi and he became lost, floating down the east coast spending his money instead of going back home to figure out what to do next. he was on the way to florida for some big new years bash with a group of people he met in vermont and somehow they ended up in west virginia. one wrong turn and they were in huntsville. within the first week the group they came with was gone, rebellious thinking the warnings were lies.

remi settled at the commune but he still is having a hard time adjusting to this new life. he just feels lost and scared and doesn't know how to handle everything. hopefully he can find a way to adapt or they don't know how they're going to survive.

QUICK CONNECTIONS.

friends

someone to help them adapt

bands they toured with

fans

other musicians

a therapist type

partner in crime

HEADCANONS.

very likely has bipolar disorder, but doesn't know that

still has a couple guitars with them, also knows how to play the piano and violin.

can speak french, spanish, italian, and english.

more to come!

[windandwater]

I haven't been able to listen to music since--uh. March. which doesn't necessarily sound like a problem but if you've ever gone 5 months without listening to music for an extended period of time, let me tell you, the inside of your head gets weird. the songs my brain has been dredging up to play on a loop are 1) deep cuts, 2) annoying, and 3) shit I thought I erased from my being entirely. I'm talking girl scout camp songs. songs from The Bad Times of life. one single refrain from a song the rest of which I don't remember.

distracting yourself with nothing but video game streams, the Sims, and podcasts, is not what I'd call healthy.

only thing is. when I joke about having the taste of an aging male hippie. I always mean one aging male hippie in particular. even the stuff that's not classic rock is a branch of all that in that it's folk, it's indie, it's something I like because of who I am because of my dad.

and if it's not that it's something I'm not really in the mood for.

so I bit the bullet and listened all the way through "Country Roads" (we went to & fell in love with West Virginia together a lot) and like a fool thought that because I only teared up I was safe so I listened to "Shenandoah" which always makes me emotional anyway for various reasons and y'all that part of the country was my favorite growing up and guess who always took me there?

I fell in love with the woods & mountains there. we would pick blueberries in the summer and go in the spring specifically to see wildflowers. it was there that I first saw a bear and learned not to be afraid of them. I went on trips just me & my dad because I loved hiking & camping the most out of anyone in my family, just like him, so he took just me, out into the woods.

I cried the way I did when I got the news. all over again.

I'm tired as shit of being this sad.

also: told my brother (who has been sending me punk songs with sad lyrics) that I did this to myself. he'd never heard the song and is not a folk person in general? or a huge outdoors person. but he was there on most of the same trips. he listened to the first 35 seconds and had to nope out of it. I am both vindicated and more sad.

[welleducatedinfant]

FOR YOUR SILLY LITTLE ASK GAME!!!!!!!!!

3, 9, 12, 13, 22, AND 27

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAVE A GARG FOR YOUR TROUBLES!!

charlie you are one of my favorite people and it's not just because you always answer my ask games because you know i love talking about myself

3. Favourite food?

mmmmmm chicken tikka masala from a local indian place OR lasagna made by my mom specifically on my birthday

9. What's your all time favourite movie/tv show?

dawg you have got to give me easier questions. top five movies right now in no order: mad max fury road, lotr, bill and ted, bridge to terabithia, 10 things i hate about you

12. Your favourite music genres?

all of em. when i say i listen to everything i mean it. right now, hardcore/grindcore, pop punk, metal/goth, alt rock, pop, and folk punk

13. Your dream place to visit?

point pleasant, west virginia. oxford university. national radio quiet zone. anyplace with no light pollution on a no moon summer night.

22. Best memory you could think of?

first one that comes to mind is seeing the happy fits and screaming along to dirty imbecile right at the barricade with my best friend

27. Who was your favourite childhood crush?

josh hutcherson had me in a chokehold and kind of still does

a garg for your troubles:

[dstriker]

December 2024: RR Party on Friday The 13th, Plus Saturday The 14th Day Party with R.A. Bridges, Annie Neeley, and Lew Card

The Basement, 1604 8th Ave S, Ste 330, Nashville, TN • Doors 6:30p / Show 7p • Ticket Page

Friday the 13th strikes again this December! Time for another RR Party to celebrate the new issue of the RR zine—published every Friday the 13th since 1998. Head to The Basement OG and catch performances by D. Striker, Hands Down Eugene, Justin Webb & The Noise, CT Stephenson, and Jason Crawford.

D. Striker - This RR Party will celebrate the release of issue #47 of RR, a zine about Striker’s self-styled country star life, told through stories, song lyrics, interactive games, and more, all while also tackling Nashville’s past and present in both reverent and satirical ways.

Hands Down Eugene - Matt Moody reunited the band for the first time since 2019 at the last RR Party in September. It's truly a treat to have the seldom-seen psych-rocker return on Friday the 13th to achieve perfect RR Party participation in 2024.

“They make Beatles inspired art pop, with a really great sense of melody and really tight harmonies.” ~ Robin Hilton on Second Stage (NPR Music)

Justin Webb & The Noise - Hot off the release of their debut album “Stupid Young” on Austin’s Chicken Ranch Records (listen here), Justin Webb & The Noise comprises former members of We Were The States, Bully, and Only.

“Stupid Young is steeped in the turn-of-the-21st-Century post-Strokes moment when bands drawing on ‘60s garage and late ‘70s punk, such as The White Stripes and The Hives, pushed rap metal off the radio. There might even be the slightest hint of the widescreen technicolor of bands like U2 or Oasis. Except this music has a Southern accent – these are Tennessee boys, after all. Most appreciably, you will not find a single gated snare or a drop of digital reverb on any inch of this record. In other words, Justin Webb & The Noise play rock ‘n’ roll, the way God intended it.” - Tim Stegall

CT Stephenson - CT led the Charlotte-based alt.country band Memphis Quick 50 in the early Aughts, featuring a talented lineup that included pre-Avett Brothers Bob Crawford on bass. CT’s last Nashville performance was at an RR Party in 2015, making it fitting that he returns to the RR Party stage to debut his new songs and new sound.

Jason Crawford - By way of Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Athens, Georgia, Jason Crawford recently released an EP, Down To Move, produced by Jonathan Burnside (The Melvins, Kurt Cobain, Faith No More). Listen here.

RR Presents Saturday the 14th 

Bobby's Idle Hour, 9 Music Square S, Nashville, TN 37203 • 3-6p

Cure your RR Party hangover with a daytime hang at Bobby’s Idle Hour featuring a talented line-up with RR Party connections.

R. A. Bridges – This Bowling Green native and old-time fiddler led a band called The Pennyrilers, which described themselves as 'Old Americana Grass.' He’ll debut new songs featuring most of the old band with the addition of fiddle champion Joel Whittinghill at the Idle Hour.

Annie Neeley - Bryan Williston of Spill Magazine describes Annie Neeley as “a songwriter who is connected to herself, and to the literal and metaphorical places that she calls home." A longtime Nashvillian, Neeley now lives in her home state of West Virginia. Listen here.

Lew Card - With comparisons to John Prine and Hayes Carll, “Card works the Texas side of roots-rock by combining the easygoing and the gritty” says Jim Caligiuri for The Austin Chronicle. Listen here.

[theballadofmortimerlepastorale]

SLW 48A/CODENAME: T0FVRKEY, STEP ONE: KARATE CHOP TO THE MEDULLA OBLONGATA ROCK 'N' ROLL//POST-PUNK//GOTH ROCK//DARKWAVE//INDUSTRIAL (uploaded to Mixcloud: 2024_10_01) CURRENTLY NOT BEING SIMULCASTED TO TERRESTIAL RADIO Music in the background during the Voice Over Breaks from The Prisoner OST (BBC T.V. 1968)x

Tones On Tail - Twist (Northampton, England 1984)

Death And Vanilla - Transparent Things (Malmö, Sweden 2023)

LOVATARAXX - Millepertuis (Lyon, France 2024)

Diary of Dreams - the Secret (Germany 2023)

ACITYASLEEP - Turn To Cold (Richmond, Virginia 2024)

The Ire - Bacchic Danse (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2024)

Bauhaus - Mask (Northampton, England 1981)

Butthole Surfers - Whirling Hall Of Knives (San Antonio, Texas 1986)

Ascenship - К​а​л​и​н​и​н​г​р​а​д* (Indianapolis, Indiana 2023)

Joy Division - Something Must Break (Manchester, England 1980)

The Cure - The Blood (London, England 1985)

The Sisters Of Mercy - Burn (Leeds, England 1983)

Peter Murphy - The Spy in the Cab live (Los Angeles, California 2013)

The Creatures - Gecko (Oahu, Hawaii 1983)

Swans - Amnesia (New York City, New York 1992)

Dead Can Dance - Frontier (London, England 1984)

Dead Can Dance - The Trial (London, England 1984)

Ministry - The Angel (Chicago, Illinois 1986)

Skinny Puppy - Assimilate (Vancouver, Cananda 1985)

Einstürzende Neubauten - Seele Brennt (West Berlin, West Germany 1985)

Morthem Vlade Art - A Death in the Family (Paris, France 2021)

Preoccupations - Fever (Calgary, Canada 2016)

Da-Sein - Hell Over You (Madrid, Spain 2023)

Attrition - The Alibi (Coventry, England 2024)

Theo Vandenhoff - Evening Star (Toronto, Canada 2024)

Yama Uba - Shatter (Oakland, California 2023)

Caput Medusae - I Wear Black 'Til I'm Dead (Munich, Germany 2024) *Kaliningrad

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 11th April

Another two songs, and they're a wild two, this time. Seriously, I challenge you not to feel breathless after listening to this duo - both have a different but equally manic energy. Good stuff!

Cumberland Gap - Lonnie Donegan (1)

Well, Lonnie's a bit nutty at the best of times, but he genuinely sounds like he's lost his mind on this track, especially towards the end where it just dissolves into these stuttering, breathless, strangely quiet repetitions of the lyric Cumberland gap, Cumberland gap. It's fascinatingly raw and imperfect, I like it a lot.

The song itself's an Appalachian folk song with a long history, having first been recorded in 1924, but having existed for a fair while before then. It's a song about a mountain pass, the Cumberland Gap, at the point where Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky meet, which was apparently used by 1700s migrants travelling west. It's normally a banjo tune, and you can hear that here, even though Lonnie's on guitar.

Most of the lyrics here make reference to the actual Cumberland Gap, and the distance between there and Middlesboro, Kentucky, though there's also a brief nonsense interlude that Lonnie inserts about how I got a girl six feet tall / Sleeps in the kitchen with her feet in the hall and about Two old ladies sitting int he sand / Each one wishing that the other was a man, both of which feel like a weird throwback to novelty music-hall gags. They're fun, but they're odd, too, completely unconnected to the rest of the song, just excuses for Lonnie to speed the pace up more and more, going at it with increasing levels of gusto until he practically crashes into the guitar solo at the end.

And speaking of that guitar solo, it's a proper rocker. You get the feeling that this guitar solo could hold its weight against a bunch of more iconic solos, we're really getting towards proper rock rock, you know? Heck, there's something a little bit punk rock about Lonnie's delivery, here, just twenty years or so too early - it's breathy and itchy and raw, and there's that sort of unpolished, DIY feel to the whole track. So that's something.

Awww, man, I really enjoyed the chaotic energy here!

The Girl Can't Help It - Little Richard (9)

Yeah, this is also pretty great, another rocker, with some really lovely moments.

We start with a solid, regular drum beat, and some blasts of saxophone, a much cooler, more collected vibe than Lonnie had. Then the backing singers come in with a chorus of She can't help it, the girl can't help it, and we're go, with a song that on paper looks kind of creepy, but in practice, just about gets away with it.

I think it's the cartoonishness of it all that does it. Lines about how If she walks by, the menfolks get engrossed or how If she winks an eye, the bread slice turn to toast, or If she smile, then beefsteak become well done are so obviously ridiculous that you can't help but imagine men's heads swivelling like they're in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, complete with heart eyes and their hearts beating exaggerately out of their chests, complete with cliché "awoooga" horn sounds. It's silly, and the switch into comedy mode means that the potential creepiness of lines about how this girl was born to please or about how she's got a figure made to squeeze is neutralised. Thank goodness!

It also helps that Little Richard clearly is dating this woman - why else would he be singing about going down on bended knee? You don't do that with a girl you're catcalling on the street. He even gets the cute little moment where he turns the can't help it shtick around, singing about how he hopes that one day his girl won't be able to help but love him. It's a good addition to the song, since it turns it from a song about ogling passing women into a song about how Richard's girlfriend is the hottest, seriously, even the sliced bread wants her - no seriously!

It's cute, okay? There's a goofiness to it, and Little Richard's obviosuly having fun, with all these little vocal quirks and one particularly notable scream right in the middle. It's fine, and I can absolutely see 1950s teenagers bopping away, making eyes at their crushes to this.

Man, I like both of these songs. They've both got a certain rawness to them, and an energy that gets your toes tapping. Both are also kind of silly, in their own way, too - we're not taking ourselves too seriously, which I enjoyed. In terms of which I enjoyed more, though? I think the sheer unhingedness won me over...

Favourite song of the bunch: Cumberland Gap

[nugothrhythms]

“Insomnia” by Charleston, West Virginia-based dark post-punk and indie goth band Static Fur off of their 2021 EP also called Insomnia

[le-souriant]

#MusicMonday Review - September 2023

#MusicMonday is the hashtag I've been using for quite a while to share music recommendations from up-and-coming artists. Always fresh, and always different, trying to look for trends before they become one. You can check August's review for more music.

This month's music will take you through different atmospheres, and settings. Sit back, relax, give it a listen or two, with a word from the artists themselves. 🎧

Lazy Guns – In My Shadow

Wear your crown with your head held high You tell everyone you live in the sky But what do you do when your kingdom crumbles You're falling down and I watch you tumble

We wake up this month in beautiful Sunshine Coast, Australia for a 2000s Rock revival about being always better than those who envy you:

"The song came about around three years ago while we were writing the album and was written by myself [band member Jack] and our older sister, Paris Smith.

Shadow is kind of a vengeful track and opens the door to a slightly darker side of our album. The song is ultimately about rising up against someone that has hurt you, and realizing that you are better that that person, and that they will always be 'in your shadow'."

Dakota Avenue – Skin

I feel, completely to blame for the uproar. We kissed, it’s not my fault that you want more. You feel, the way you feel because you’re… We talk, the way we talk because you’re… unhappy with him.

You’re unhappy with him. You’re unhappy within. You’re unhappy within your skin.

We move to Manchester, England for an alt-mospheric track about making someone so pissed, they can’t even find where their keys are:

"It is about the way people behave badly because of their own negative impression of themselves, and how the people around them may feel feel upset or somehow responsible. I think it’s more a reflection on myself and my friends at a time we weren't very happy!"

Silver Springs – Glow

Walk down the same old streets full of familiar faces Go for a drink visit the same old places Early in the morning, alone in the cold I see it clearer than in used to Be reborn again and let the past grow old

From Stockholm, Sweden, an ethereal Indie track about being stuck, losing it all, with nowhere to go:

"That song just came very naturally, I think I wrote it in just a couple of hours. It sort of sums up a feeling I had when I had to move on from something that was really important to me, I didn’t want to look back but I also thought everything new and current felt very boring and grey. And then in the last part of the song it’s more about moving on and accepting that things have to change.

It was like a brief but intense therapy session to write the song and I don’t think I realized at the time how personal the song really is. 😁"

The Semi-Supervillains – Here Comes Trouble

And I like a surprise; but I realize She's gone; and I keep hitting snooze I wake up at the crack of noon I look up; I ain't got a clue She's gone

Next stop, Weirton, West Virginia for some Classic Rock vibes about running as fast as I can, even if you don't wanna leave, before you may get a shotgun pointed at you:

"Here Comes Trouble is a contemporary blues rock track inspired by the modern garage rock juggernauts. The lyrics and story in the song are from a personal experience sparing few that is common for the average young American man. Getting laid and sneaking out of the house before her dad kicks finds you there!"

Parade – Electric Fear

Have you known this electric fear The one that hides your pain.

I'll tell you how it feels to live on pills

The harder you fall The pressure you felt The weight on your shoulders The weight of the world

Our last destination is Marseille, France for a Post Punk track that takes us to that place where happiness was never meant for real:

"Electric fear has different meanings, one would be against the alienation of working in big companies, never listening to your own feeling, just act as a robot until the day ends.

It also relates to my depression, and pills that always comes within. It doesn’t matter if it's drug pills or medicine pills as both interact with your mind.

We wrote the music together and [band member] Nico found very quickly this theme that we consider the chorus of the song and then we put that all together. At first it was the same line repeated over and over and we finally fixed it with the bridge so that it can be a proper song."

Listen to them and much more on the complete Playlist:

[asheimmortal]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I think Fangbanger is the best band on the planet right now.

And I found them on TikTok only a few months ago, then drove across the country from West Virginia to Oregon to see them.

Sometimes I feel like maybe I'm seriously messed up in the head because I can't remember if I ever listened to any other band this much. And there have been a few, but those few have a lot more albums. But I'm listening to the same 19 songs a hell of a lot now. We'll get to that in a minute.

I grew up on Duran Duran and they've been my #1 favorite band no matter what else comes along since their first album. When I was a little kid, I knew I was alone in the world, and all I had were the Duran Duran tapes my aunt gave me to help me make sense of life and figure myself out with. So music has always been how I relate to the world and move through life. The next big one was Nirvana during high school, as I related a lot to them too. At 20 I got into Rammstein more just liking the heavier sound tbh. At 30 I was introduced to Twiztid and the older stuff felt relatable, but as I got older, like over 40, I reverted back to my classic rock, 80s & some early 90s.

But here at 45, I've got a new #1 favorite band and I'm probably old enough to be their momma. LOL But they are so fucking great!!!

I can't really put my finger on what it is, or how to explain it. I loved their energy from the start, from the first live from their garage that I saw, it's like what it must've been like for the older Gen X'ers who went to punk, post punk & goth shows as teenagers in the early 80's when I was still in elementary school. But it's definitely something that can't be faked. Just the same as my other new favorite band One Way Sky is, totally different band, but they authentically have this blend of chill 70s rock & 90s alternative vibe going. To compare, I remember hearing White Stripes when they first came out and thought they sucked because they're trying too hard to sound and look like they're from the 70s. So it's definitely something special to organically have that vibe and sound and feel and energy, like it could have come from another time. And be super relevant to someone my age too. Yeah, that's why I like both of these young bands. And with their energy, and how cool they are, their music, in some small way they make me feel like I'm 18 again when I listen to them. And I think they are everything I wanted to be when I grew up.

The first song I really related to and felt was Vertigo, then when I heard Disappear, yeah it certainly fit what happened at that time and it was a good driving force to get me to literally disappear 2600 miles away like "🖕 you I'm gone!" LOL And another older one that is absolutely great is Death in December. I really did cry the first time I heard it. It's such an amazing song!

So it definitely takes some work to find all of the songs that they've ever put out into the world, and I've counted 19 between YouTube, Spotify, and SoundCloud where there is more of the older stuff. And even with YouTube, you'd need to know that they were The Faint Endless before becoming Fangbanger. So here's the list I got:

Isolate

Artificial Flowers

Light Switch

Vertigo

Once a Catholic, Always a Masochist

Don't Cry

Malice in Wonderland

Plan B

Disappear

Requiem

We Were Once Invincible

Celestial Revenge

Take Me Down

Horrible Things

Death in December

Love Object

Midnight Son

Stay Away

I Love Huffing Paint

And the unfinished song they played on their live yesterday is as great and I cant wait to hear that again. I just think they're fucking fantastic, I love their wild energy, some of the songs or even some lines from other songs are so intense, like they know my 45 of years of pain and suffering, and some stuff is just plain fun and fun to see live. If you like vampires, you should check out their latest release, Midnight Son. 😈🧛😁 And that'll take you to a playlist where you can hear a lot of their stuff. But def go buy their songs on Amazon or Apple.

I've left links all throughout the post for you to go check them out and follow them. I hope I can get more people listening to them.

[atomicpeasantwv-blog]

We have some t shirts and back patches available. $10 t's and $5 patches. This swag was printed up by our good friend Brandon Mitchell at Pins And Needles (Disappearing Man, Funky Town, Pool Party). Get yours at a show soon.

[hidden-insights]

Let the adventure begiiin ! But first, a documentary on pasta  !