#does this share a title with an mcr song? yes

[yeenybeanies]

I'm (Not) Okay

i saw this text post & my brain went brrrrr but what if with devin (+ some other tweaks) i didn't proofread this y'all can just have some sad fluff red dead redemption | arthur morgan & devin clarke (oc) 1,083 words no warnings enjoy!! reblogs > likes!! patreon ✨ ko-fi

Today was turning out to be one of those days. Dutch was being impossible, Micah was insufferable as always, Bill was an idiot… It was all a little much. Days like these seemed to be happening more frequently. Something that Dutch had said (or yelled) to him earlier was lingering in his mind. Normally, Arthur didn’t let anything anyone else said get to him––not really––but Dutch’s words were a special type of cruel today. Arthur tried to reason that the old man was under a lot of stress with keeping this gang together, but that excuse just wasn’t holding water today.

They were all under a lot of stress right now, dammit!

Arthur sighed, a hand to his brow, and sat down at the base of an old tree just beyond the camp’s edge. He peered through his fingers, looking at the glassy surface of the lake. Tiny waves lapped gently at its shores. It looked calm, at a glance, but he noticed little disturbances in the surface too, where fish congregated to do… whatever it was fish did.

Behind him, he heard a soft snap that made him jump. Instinctively Arthur reached for his gun, fingers gripping the handle tight, but they loosened when he spotted a deer bouncing through the undergrowth. Tailing close behind it was a little fawn, its tawny pelt dappled with white spots. Arthur returned his gaze to the lake with an exasperated sigh. Fool, he called himself. It was just a couple of deer. Fool.

“Arthur?”

Again, the gunslinger jumped, though he didn’t move for his weapon this time. He paused for a moment, then sighed even harder than before. “Miss Devin,” he answered. With his acknowledgement, the little borrower pushed their way between the blades of grass that sheltered them. Just seeing them brightened Arthur’s mood, if only marginally. “What are you doin’ sneakin’ up on me, hm?”

Devin rolled their eyes and made their way closer. “I sneak up on everyone. It’s what borrowers do, you know. We sneak.”

“That you do,” he said with a chuckle. He remained still as Devin reached his hip and started to climb, using his gun belt and creases in his pants to pull themself up. A part of him thought to help them up––the gentleman part of him––but he opted not to. Devin took pride in their own independence and competence; he didn’t want to risk offending them with gestures that could suggest anything contrary (even if he never meant them that way). “What brings you out here?” He asks once they reach the top of his thigh.

“I could ask you the same,” they say. “I saw you out here all alone. Thought you looked… glum.”

Arthur tried to play off their concern with another chuckle, though this one was weaker, more hollow. He averted his eyes and forced an unconvincing smile. “Naw, I’m… I just needed a moment to myself is all.”

“Oh. I can leave then, if you––”

“You’re fine,” he said quickly, cutting them off. Unconsciously he brought his hand up behind them, his fingertips just barely brushing their arm. It wasn’t an effort to trap them, but an invite to stay. Devin took a step backward, leaning into the bend of his fingers. They studied his face, thoughtful, knowing.

“Are you okay, Arthur?” They asked him. It was a rhetorical question, a soft invitation of their own. It caught Arthur off guard. He met their eyes and lifted his brow.

Of course, Miss Devin. That was what he wanted to say. That was what he would normally say to most anyone else. But those dismissive words wouldn’t form in his mouth. He swallowed and tightened his jaw, trying to keep his emotions in check. He felt pathetic.

Devin looped an arm around his ring finger and hugged it to their chest. His other fingers followed suit, gently curling around them in a loose fist. It wasn’t restrictive at all, but it did hide them from view; only the soft tickle of their hair, the faint pressure in their touch, and the warmth from their little body against his skin told him that they were there. They were real.

Arthur felt a lump forming in his throat. His breath was starting to shake. “No, Miss Devin,” he said, voice kept to a whisper for fear that it might crack, “I… I don’t think I am.” Moisture gathered in his eyes, almost unfamiliar to him at this point. He swiped it away with his free thumb. In this life, he couldn’t afford to cry. He couldn’t afford to be vulnerable.

Right?

But Devin couldn’t either, and yet, here they were. Here they were with their life quite literally in his hand. They were one of the strongest people he knew, and they let themself be vulnerable with him.

“Closer,” Devin said. Arthur’s fist tightened just slightly, enough to secure them. He lifted them up, his other hand cupping beneath them, and brought them nearer to his chest. “Closer,” they said again, and he brought them higher, until the two of them were eye-level.

For a long moment, they stared at each other, neither of them saying anything. They didn’t need to. Devin could read him like a book. Arthur’s vision was starting to blur under the rising moisture. He squeezed his eyes shut and tipped his head forward, bringing his forehead to theirs. Devin’s body was small, but their presence was bigger than ever. For once, Arthur was feeling overwhelmed, lost in them. They drew a hand over his brow, offering comfort as best they could. To them, it seemed like a small, perhaps insignificant gesture; but to Arthur, it meant more than they could imagine.

“You don’t always have to be the big, bad gunslinger,” they said. Arthur pursed his lips. He didn’t quite believe that, but he appreciated their words nevertheless. He leaned a bit more into their touch, bringing the bridge of his nose to their chest. “I wish I could do more for you, Arthur. I… I really do.”

Arthur huffed softly, something akin to a laugh. “Miss Devin,” he said, “you do plenty for me n’ more.”

They rubbed along the bridge of his nose, tiny hands feeling the faint creases where it had been broken and straightened in times past. Their lips, almost imperceptible, pressed to his brow, right between his eyes. Arthur’s eyelashes fluttered.

He breathed out, much heavier, much calmer, and let the little borrower comfort him.

[cherryflavoredblood]

Tibits and stuff

Funny fun facts about my 80 million btd ocs!! if anyone cares lol

This is a long post because there are a lot of them obviously. No spoilers will happen for the game they're in or for MX. Sinister.

Main Characters only!

Mild nsfw and gross things under cut!

✰Vivzy✰

Has had violent, nasty, grotesque sex behind an Arby's before. And in one. And while eating it. Likes Arby's. Guess where you're going for dinner?

Talks loud. Really loud. If you said something, repeat it, he's talking in his head so loud he's unable to process anything.

✰Azrael✰

Creepy uncle you only see once every few years at family gatherings that asks if you want to watch SAW. You say yes, only to be shown a real snuff film she made herself. You should go to the police about this.

Loves an overly affectionate captive. Try to hold her hand only for her to slap it away and laugh at you. Kiss her forehead so she can bite you until you bleed. Make her breakfast only for her to vomit it up and call it 'disgusting and vile.

✰Yvette✰

Hates, hates, HATES sex. The thought of sex. Even jokes about sex. If you try to initiate sex, you will die. Or, alternatively, have things on your body removed.

Runs a true crime YouTube.. except she hates true crime. Hates it so, so much in fact, that she runs her account with a spin. The unsolved crime cases she covers? Hers. She committed them. Gets a huge sick kick out of it too.

✰Mateo✰

Lives off a diet of hot cheetos, BANG energy, weed, cocaine and imported Japanese snacks.

He's behind the 4chan fridgebro thread. His house is a hazard and a threat to humankind.

✰Baphomet✰

Is a sexless shapeshifter. Can be whatever you want him to be. Takes form of your deepest, darkest attraction <3

Being an overly religious, stuck up douchebag is boring sometimes. So he indulges in Lovecraftian and Satanic horror love stories!

✰Yoo-ri✰

Had an emo phase when she was growing up. Was thinking about become a punk rock artist or a dark poet before switching to what she does now. Still listens to MCR some nights when she gets time alone.

Made out with cardboard cutouts of herself as a publicity stunt once. Continues to do dumb shit in public for her Tik-Tok and Instagram. Her newest thing to blow up was titled: "YOO-RI GONE WILD! EATS ICE CREAM MADE FROM [redacted] THIS WILL SHOCK YOU!"

✰Shirca✰

Has a witch caldron where she cooks up monstrosities. Stews, potions, weird tiny creatures that are actually very cute, but they die within a week.

Don't play cards with her. Ever. In any kind. If you do, whatever happens, do NOT win. If you do, she'll pull a different card. A fate sealing Tarot.

✰Crystal✰

Watches beauty videos constantly. Has a beauty YouTube channel too. Will find a way to use this against her captive somehow. Probably in the form of an annoying 'HI SISTERS'

Espeon 'addiction'. Her comfort character. Has so many stickers and plushies and keychains and cards and-

✰Hyeon-Seo✰

Smoke addiction except she somehow finds money to purchase premium cigarettes that cost up to 100$ per carton made by a company called 'CigarHounds'

Before her reign of terror, she used to frequent carnivals with her old friends. (Ones that her rich family hosted) It was great stress relief. She was good at most games, won a lot too.

✰Yuimori✰

Has gotten so used to the rain around his area that it's... a comfort in a way. Purposely goes out when it rains to listen to music, but of course, only songs that fit the mood.

Contrary to popular belief, he's somewhat 'okay' with sharing his sweetheart (in sexual situations). Only if it's with someone he loves or trusts enough.

[thefigureinthecorner]

tama-rrow will be kinder- an am archives playlist

at least 3 months and 31 songs later and this monster of a playlist finally has a cover hell yeah

the pun title is....... literally the only fun thing about this playlist, actually.

song notes, and also spoilers, under the cut

a lot of these songs are mood songs; the lyrics don’t have a whole lot of relevance. most of them do have at least some lyrical relevance, though, provided that the song has any lyrics at all. it’s p much just the songs that helped me draw all that Good Good Angst

also important to note: I started making it after episode 9, so it’s mostly relevant to the back half of the show, and especially to the last couple of episodes.

again, this is 31 songs and over 2 hours long, so the notes are........ kind of long

Ghosts That We Knew - Mumford & Sons

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light/'Cause oh that gave me such a fright/But I will hold as long as you like/Just promise me we'll be alright

Desert Song - My Chemical Romance

this is one of those songs that’s there primarily for mood reasons; i added it right after episode 9 came out and it was on loop pretty much the whole time i was drawing stuff for that episode. the lyrics are kinda relevant, but not enough for me to pull out any specific lines.

The World Is Ugly - My Chemical Romance

this was added for mood reasons after 9, but then it became relevant.

I just wanted you to know/That the world is ugly/But you're beautiful to me/Are you thinking of me/Like I'm thinking of you/I would say I'm sorry, though/Though I really need to go

The Light Behind Your Eyes - My Chemical Romance

yes, there are three mcr songs in a row, and no, i’m not gonna apologize for that. the am archives slam dunked me right back into my emo phase. also, this song just straight-up hurts. like, the whole thing.

If I could be with you tonight/I would sing you to sleep/Never let them take the light behind your eyes/I failed and lost this fight/Never fade in the dark/Just remember you will always burn as bright

In Case You Don't Live Forever - Ben Platt

my one note for this song is: ow.

I've waited way too long to say/Everything you mean to me/In case you don't live forever, let me tell you now/I love you more than you'll ever wrap your head around/In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth/I'm everything that I am because of you

Spanish Sahara - Foals

this one’s another mood song, but it does have some lines that work; the forget the horror here sections are the biggest reason this song ended up on the playlist, actually, mood aside.

Hot Gates - Mumford & Sons

mood mostly, but also:

And I can't be for you all of the things you want me to/But I will love you constantly/There's precious little else to me/And though we cry, we must stay alive

Iridescent - Linkin Park

When you were standing in the wake of devastation When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown And with the cataclysm raining down, insides crying save me now You were there impossibly alone

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation You build up hope but failure's all you've known Remember all the sadness and frustration And let it go, let it go

Gone Away - SafetySuit

again: ow.

i just... go look at the lyrics. do it. it hurts.

POWERLESS - Linkin Park

it’s mostly here for mood, but the lyrics feel relevant in a way that i can’t pinpoint but it’s a way that hurts.

Daylight - Boyce Avenue

i have other connections to this specific cover of this song that make it Extra Painful but like Daylight started playing literally right after Crazy while i was at CVS and i was like hey hi excuse me i just wanted to get some Arizona w h y

anyway.

Here I am staring at your perfection/In my arms, so beautiful/The sky is getting bright, the stars are burning out/Somebody slow it down/This is way too hard/'Cause I know, when the sun comes up/I will leave, this is my last glance/That will soon be memory

Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol

ah. the Quintessential Sad Medical Drama Song. not that tama is a medical drama but like it kinda gave me those vibes at times?? anyway. it’s here for mood more than anything but there are some lyrics in it that hurt

The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

not even abba is safe from tama angst.

no seriously though i got this song stuck in my head and had an aw fuck come on seriously???? ABBA?????? you’re making ABBA hurt???????? moment

re: joan and owen

The gods may throw a dice/Their minds as cold as ice/And someone way down here/Loses someone dear/The winner takes it all/The loser has to fall/It's simple and it's plain/Why should I complain

and re: joan and wadsworth

I don't want to talk/If it makes you feel sad/And I understand/You've come to shake my hand/I apologize/If it makes you feel bad/Seeing me so tense/No self-confidence/But you see/The winner takes it all

I Of The Storm - Of Monsters and Men

Are you really gonna love me when I'm gone?/I fear you won't/I fear you don't/And it echoes when I breathe/Until all you see is my ghost/Empty vessel, crooked teeth/Wish you could see/And they call me under/And I'm shaking like a leaf/And they call me under/And I wither underneath

Hail To Whatever You Found In The Sunlight That Surrounds You - Rilo Kiley

this one is 100% a mood song. i’ve debated taking it off the playlist but it just... gets me in the right headspace for drawing tama art, i guess?? something about the sadness/anxiety in the song or something i think

Fear - Sleeping At Last

it’s instrumental, so yeah, mood song

For Good - Wicked

i’ve made art based on this song, but i didn’t even use the lyrics that actually hurt the most?

And just to clear the air/I ask forgiveness/For the things I've done you blame me for

But then, I guess we know/There's blame to share

And none of it seems to matter anymore

Empty Chairs At Empty Tables - Les Miserables

yeah so realizing how well this song fit kind of felt like what i would imagine getting hit by a train feels like

the whole song fits. just trust me on this.

All Gone (No Escape) - Gustavo Santaolalla

another instrumental one that’s mood-only, but i was rewatching a last of us playthrough as a reference for a thing and this song popped up towards the end and i was like “ah, that hurts, i need it”

All Is Well (It's Only Blood) - Radical Face

y’know what? the song’s pretty short. have all the lyrics, and i’m sorry.

All is well now Pay no mind All is well now I'm just fine I'm just fine It's only blood; I have plenty left It's only blood; I just need to rest I said I'd fix this That I'd set things straight You begged me not to But I couldn't stay Couldn't wait They cut me up, but I did them worse And I'll be fine, I just need to rest All is well now All is well now All is well now All is well now

......yeah.

when i heard it, i swear to god it replicated that exact sinking feeling i felt in the pit of my stomach when i first listened to episode 15. it fits way too well, and i have too many feelings about this song, and hhhhhhh

After the Storm - Mumford & Sons

And I won't die alone and be left there Well I guess I'll just go home, Oh God knows where Because death is just so full and man so small Well I'm scared of what's behind and what's before

The Trapeze Swinger - Iron & Wine

someone in the tag mentioned this song and i’ve been crying over it ever since

it’s just. 9 minutes of jesus christ, ow, what the fuck

Winter Song - The Head and the Heart

this one’s mostly here for mood, but some of the lyrics do fit and they hurt, like “we’re just praying that we’re doing this right/but that’s not the way it seems”; joan realizing that she’s been going about the tier 5 clear out the wrong way and the costly mistakes that come with that.

Touch - Sleeping At Last

i think this one’s mostly for the mood, but there’s something in the lyrics that make me think of joan in the finale; that kind of numb, “none of this feels real” denial of everything that’s happened both to her and to the people she loves.

Silhouette - Owl City

this song hurts especially in the context of the “i need you to be happy” line, i think; the line changing between “will i ever feel again//will i ever smile again//will i ever love again” is just, like, a trifecta of pain

The fire I began, is burning me alive But I know better than to leave and let it die I'm a silhouette asking every now and then Is it over yet? Will I ever smile again? I'm a silhouette chasing rainbows on my own But the more I try to move on the more I feel alone So I watch the summer stars to lead me home

All Is Well (Goodbye, Goodbye) - Radical Face

fun fact! all is well (it’s only blood) has a companion song!! because you know what’s better than one angst? two angst!!

And I have lost your face It slips between my fingers now And all the world is gray As though you took the colors with you When you went and passed away

It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday - Jason Mraz

this one’s on my joan/owen playlist too, but it hurt too much to not put it here.

And if we get to see tomorrow I hope it's worth all the wait It's hard to say goodbye to yesterday

And I'll take with me the memories To be my sunshine after the rain It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday

Cradle and All - Audra McDonald

i’m just sitting here, innocently listening to joan’s playlist, when this song pops up and i’m like aw fuck aw shit no goddammit

It's not like he didn't love, no, that I couldn’t conceive There are many ways a man can stay And many ways that he can leave

--

Oh hush, oh hush, don't be scared I know that you tried, I know cared Let's put it behind us, that noise in the hall

We All Go the Same - Radical Face

i’ve made art for this song, too! it hurts. it’s sad. it’s about death. it’s got sad piano. what more explanation do you want

Light In The Hallway - Pentatonix

it’s.... comforting in a sad way, idk. it felt like it fit, especially towards the end of this playlist.

Tomorrow Will Be Kinder - The Secret Sisters this song is kind of like... sad and optimistic at the same time. i wanted to end this playlist on at least kind of a lighter note, and i think this song does that. it works with the finale; sad, not quite recovered, but still looking towards the future and knowing things can still be better despite every terrible thing that’s happened.

also, it’s where the pun title comes from.

Sorrow weighs my shoulders down And trouble haunts my mind But I know the present will not last And tomorrow will be kinder

Tomorrow will be kinder It's true, I've seen it before A brighter day is coming my way Yes, tomorrow will be kinder

Today I've cried a many tear And pain is in my heart Around me lies a somber scene I don't know where to start

[ventingbouto]

More shit I wrote (here, take it bois)

Someone came up with a thing, if the Doctor + Master had a shared youtube channel or something! I’ll tag em, gimme a sec... Aha! @popcornpages88 this was your idea right?

She sighed, looking at the laptop screen.

“I’m Not Dead #82”, the title of his new video. Well no shit, The Doctor thought, we’d kinda established that already.

She tried to will herself not to scroll down to the comments, but did so anyway. It was mostly full of confused UNIT employees and some old fans, one who’d just commented “cool” and nothing else. There was one person who had commented “yeah, who exactly are you?” and honestly if that wasn’t relatable, she didn’t know what was.

Another comment- “does that mean more piano duets? PLEASE do Welcome To The Black Parade, MCR made a comeback last year…”

Poor, lonely, emo, hiding in the comments of this shitshow of a channel. Just because The Master  was as “suddenly alive” as MCR, doesn’t mean the two should ever be combined.

But The Doctor did miss those piano duets, that was true. It had been so long since she’d even sat down to practise, let alone picked out a song to perform. In fact, she was fairly sure the fam didn’t actually know she played.

Ah, the age-old comment: “I miss the old stuff”. So do I, she thought, God- so do I. Even the pranks, ESPECIALLY the pranks.

Sometimes The Master filmed (what they called) “behind the scenes” videos for their plans. Only sometimes, though. The Doctor preferred the name “relentless pranks” for these videos. Even that seemed too kind.

Oh ha-ha, how funny, isn’t it amazing that I’m hanging out in heaven and giving some poor girl your number? How hilar- no, actually, it’s not funny, it’s annoying. Please stop.

The old stuff. Yeah, the seventy-plus years of just hanging out.

Obviously YouTube hasn’t existed for seventy years, but various civilisations had their own equivalents for centuries, and over all those years they had actually made good content together. The Master WAS capable of doing something good. Shock horror.

Missy’s war on Harry Potter, for example, now that was quality.

Okay, time for a rewind.

They’d been sat in the vault together, chillin’. Missy was on Twitter (under some supervision, of course) when she suddenly threw her phone across the room- smashing it.

“Fuck- Missy! Nardole only got that the other day…” The Doctor had jumped up, startled. Missy growled, slightly. “Did you know, mister Doctor, that the J.K Bitchface has been knocking about following transphobes and shit?” The Doctor sighed “Is that was this is about?” “So you DID know?” Missy walked over to the phone laying shattered on the ground, then proceeded to jump on it. “Great! Wonderful! I’m gonna gut her-” “NO you are not.” “Yes I am! I’m gonna go to war with J.K Shitstorm and I’m gonna go make a video right fucking now-” The Doctor rolled his eyes. “You need to give people the benefit of…” “Oh okay, so we’re defending transphobia are we?” “To be completely honest, give it a few years and we’ll get actual confirmation of her shitty views, so no- I’m not defending her. I’m just trying to stop you from murdering famous authors. Also that YouTube channel is shared.” “Which means I can post whatever I want whenever I want, thank you! Also don’t worry, I’m not going to kill anyone…”

She skipped off to go grab a video camera, or something like that, because about half an hour later she released four videos declaring war on JK Rowling, all gradually increasing in anger-levels.

-

The Doctor chuckled after finishing watching the last “Rowling-rant”. Missy could actually make extremely good points when she tried, like really, an essay/rant-style of video suited her.

That acidic, spiteful way she spat out an onslaught of points and ideas… wow, The Doctor had missed this. She wanted it back, really she did.

[nikatyler]

8 and 14 for Ross and Caleb of the OTP questions.

8. In a coffee shop AU, who would be the coffee shop employee and who would be the customer?

Alright. I thought about this. And it’s not just a coffee shop AU, it’s also an AU where they’re both more or less the same age and human and in uni. Actually, Caleb would be a little younger than Ross in this AU. Let’s get into this.

Ross works part time in a café. His parents were sending him some money every month, but he spends too much, he’s always asking for more and they’re done with him, they won’t send any more, unless he *actually* needs them (he gets some bare minimum from them but that’s it, and honestly that’s fair lol). He hates the job and the other employees joke that he could win the title of the grumpiest employee of the year. (side note, he’s probably dated a few of his coworkers too, it’s YA Ross we’re talking about 🤷‍♀️)

So one time during the exam season, he’s working his shift as always, when this small baby-faced emo freshman - yes, that’s Caleb - walks in, tired eyes, frowning, looking down, long story short you just can see the exam didn’t go well - or he’s still studying for an exam, but he’s sure it won’t go well. It’s one of these scenarios. In a quiet, scratchy voice as if he was crying just a few minutes ago, this tiny boy asks for a strong black coffee, pays and goes sit down in a dark corner in the back of the café.

Ross does what the customer says and brings him the coffee, but it just doesn’t seem right for this poor tiny boy to order something like this, something had to go seriously wrong here. Ross sits down next to him and asks what’s going on. Caleb doesn’t want to tell him at first, inside he’s freaking out actually and thinks of a way to escape him, but he gives up in the end and shares his worries. It makes him feel better…and the employees see Ross somewhat melt for the first time. 

And I’ll stop it here because I could go on and on and create a whole storyline out of this. Consider this a sneak peek into what that AU would begin like 😄

14. Who would make a playlist for the other person? What would be featured on the playlist?

(watch out, I’ll start off topic again, but that’s to be expected with these two)

This got me thinking back to the beginning when they were just playing videogames from time to time and Caleb was not good at it. He’s not too familiar with modern technologies, he can live without them, phones and computers are still foreign to him (he does use a phone but he definitely doesn’t use it to its full potential). Anyway, where I’m going with this: one time, Ross would show him what Spotify is. That would absolutely be sci-fi for him, I mean, a place where you can find pretty much all the songs you can think of?? So yes, Ross would be the one to create playlist for him - multiple playlists, actually, one for every mood or occasion. As for what would be there? Some 2000s emo bands like MCR or P!ATD (a guilty pleasure for both of them), some classical music (because who commits to just one genre? nah, the whole spectrum of music is beautiful) and some terribly cheesy love songs. Oh, and of course, it’s Ross, he definitely has a playlist that’s called something along the lines of “songs to fuck woohoo to”.

Thanks for asking! This was incredibly fun. ♥

[tune-collective]

Tigers Jaw's Charming New LP & Atlantic's Latest Cred-Carrying Imprint Are Alt-Rock's New Major Label Hopes

Tigers Jaw's Charming New LP & Atlantic's Latest Cred-Carrying Imprint Are Alt-Rock's New Major Label Hopes

The beloved indie-punk band follows 2014’s ‘Charmer’ — released on scene staple Run For Cover Records — with the debut for new label Black Cement.

Tigers Jaw vocalist-guitarist Ben Walsh calls Saves the Day’s In Reverie his favorite record. The seminal New Jersey punk band’s 2003 release is best known today not for its intricate melodies — as Walsh would probably prefer — but as the prototypical punk band-screwed-over-by-major label cautionary tale. Saves the Day’s three previous albums — released through respected indies Equal Vision and Vagrant — upped the grassroots ante to the point where they seemed likely to follow like-minded bands like Jimmy Eat World and New Found Glory to major label success. The opposite happened.

“They got dropped from [Dreamworks Records] the day the record came out,” Walsh remembers. The press archives technically place it a few weeks later, but the point remains — when majors court punk bands, there’s a boom-or-bust history with a lot more Dear Yous than Dookies in its wake. It’s especially jarring to hear this from Walsh because the Scranton, Penn. band’s latest album is coming out this spring on the brand new imprint of a major record label. It’s called spin and it’s arriving May 19 on a new Atlantic Records venture dubbed Black Cement.

The shock has nothing to do with Tigers Jaw’s credentials (Charmer was actually filled with cozy harmonies) and everything to do with punk’s almost non-existent relationship with the current major-label ecosystem and its especially volatile past. “We came from a generation of bands that formed shortly after the collapse of the seedy industry, big label, big 360-deal era,” Walsh says, thinking back to Tigers Jaw’s 2005 formation. “A lot of bands did get screwed over by major labels. [Tigers Jaw] was formed with this pre-conceived caution.” Brianna Collins, Walsh’s songwriting counterpart, likens that caution to “the image you have in your mind of a major-label person wearing a suit, buying steak dinners.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG3E0SAw4uA

The duo — Walsh alongside keyboardist-vocalist Brianna Collins — was wooed by a decidedly less destructive vision of strip clubs and A-list restaurant tabs, courtesy of chief ambassador and A&R rep for Black Cement, Will Yip. For the better part of the last decade, the Philadelphia-based producer built a reputation as the amicable, accommodating guiding light behind some of the alt-rock underground’s most influential albums — Title Fight’s Hyperview, La Dispute’s Rooms of the House, Balance and Composure’s The Things We Think We’re Missing and naturally, Tigers Jaw’s previous LP, crafted after three-fifths of the band (including founding songwriter Adam McIlwee) announced plans to go their separate ways. “Charmer for us was a transitional period, but [Yip] was so consistent and so creative and helpful,” Walsh says. “So it was completely a natural thing — ‘No matter who’s putting out our next record, we want to work with Will.’” 

The feeling’s mutual. “There’s a Mount Rushmore of bands that are kind of the OGs in this world,” says Yip. His etched-in-stone core four includes Tigers Jaw, plus the trio mentioned above. “When Black Cement formed, Atlantic approached me [saying] we wanna do a label with these bands… [I said] ‘You can’t do this label without some of the OGs.’” Dave Rath, head of A&R at Roadrunner Records for the past decade, had long been fascinated by Yip’s corner of the rock world and spent over two years planning Black Cement with Yip. “Other labels are running away from rock while we’re running at it,” Rath asserts. Case-in-point: Atlantic now houses what figures to be the most punk and indie rock-oriented imprint of any major label alongside the hard rock-heavy Roadrunner and the pop-rock smorgasbord Fueled By Ramen. 

So Yip’s world has a Mont Rushmore, but does it even have a name? These groups are all adjacent to those commonly placed within the so-called “emo revival,” but sound nothing akin to bands like My Chemical Romance and mascara-era Fall Out Boy that the three-letter word commonly evokes. (Neither do the core “emo revival” bands, for that matter, but that’s a discussion for another day). Punk or alt-rock? Those qualifiers are less incorrect, but no more compelling. Perhaps it’s most accurate to define Tigers Jaw’s world by what it isn’t. “It’s not like Mumford & Sons, that folky alternative stuff,” Yip says. “Mainstream rock radio really isn’t true rock music to me… I love a lot of stuff that’s on the radio. I love fun. — they’re my buddies — but I don’t think of them as a rock band.” 

Rock or not, the fact Yip names a band that hasn’t been active in two years is telling of the genre’s place in Top 40 in 2017. And the dearth of non-folksy guitar extends even to alternative radio. Once the playground of established bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Linkin Park, this week’s Alternative Songs tally features only two electric guitar-driven songs in its top 10 and a guitar-less Linkin Park song at No. 22. “Guardian,” the yearning, Walsh-fronted first single shared from spin, sounds a little like pre-major label Death Cab For Cutie (one of the few traditional alt-rock bands left on radio these days) and virtually nothing else heard on the format these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxat0Y-l59g

But the label is trying. Rath confirms Tigers Jaw will be worked to alternative radio and with the band’s blessing, radio mixes have been made for “Guardian” and “June,” a sunlit guitar-pop nugget that’s yet to be released, but an even better bet to catch on. It features Collins on lead vocals; though a longtime member, the keyboardist didn’t get her shine as a vocalist until she ran away with the opening verse on “Hum,” Charmer‘s most popular track. This time around, she’s writing her own songs for the first time. “I just never thought I’d be capable of that role in the band,” she says. “The experience with ‘Hum’ was what started myself thinking that maybe I could really try to do this. [spin] was the first record Ben and I did completely on our own. Tigers Jaw had always been two primary songwriters and I thought I might as well give it a go.”

Collins, like Walsh, is aware of her scene’s brushes with the mainstream and that yes, it’s sometimes clicked. Fall Out Boy and MCR were among her early influences, and she happily remembers cheering on New Found Glory on TRL. But the playing field has changed a lot since the early 2000s. Aside from guitar rock’s struggles on radio, it lags mightily behind just about every beat-driven genre in the streaming game.

These will be uphill battles, but the live stage presents particular opportunity for Tigers Jaw. The festival circuit has long been a boon for underappreciated alt acts, and last year, Lollapalooza’s lineup even featured Modern Baseball and Pinegrove, the exact sort of indie-punk bands you’d expect Tigers Jaw to share bills with. Being part of the Atlantic family opens doors, too; both Walsh and Rath float the idea of Tigers Jaw playing with Paramore, longtime Fueled By Ramen members who’d figure to be on the road soon to promote the new album they’ve been teasing. 

Major label life will be a unique challenge for Tigers Jaw, but their numerous successful muses prove the scene can indeed hang in a god damn arms race. Around the same time Dreamworks obliterated Walsh’s beloved Saves the Day, it vaulted a once-failed major label band called Jimmy Eat World to stardom. But at the end of the day, Yip assures, “Tigers Jaw does not need a record label in 2017, period,” just as Walsh stresses this wasn’t “some sort of Hail Mary move to blow up the band.” Tigers Jaw has spent over a decade nurturing a grassroots fanbase; now Black Cement gets to nurture one quarter of Yip’s Mount Rushmore. 

“The coolest part about this record,” says Walsh, “is that it was totally finished before we signed any deal, before we committed to any label. The record is exactly how we envisioned.”

This article originally appeared on: Billboard

http://tunecollective.com/2017/03/25/tigers-jaws-charming-new-lp-atlantics-latest-cred-carrying-imprint-alt-rocks-new-major-label-hopes/