Browsing Tag

pop punk

Eguie5 turned up the heat in the Latin American alternative scene with his solo project debut, One Last Dance

Posted on 19 June 2023

Eguie5 became a conduit of post-rock and pop-punk alchemy in his anthemically hooked debut single, One Last Dance, which efficaciously captures the bitter-sweetness of goodbyes before bringing in the cacophonous drums that pay homage to the superlative skin-beating style of Taylor Hawkins.

After spending two decades cutting his teeth as one half of the alternative duo, TUNNL19, the Puerto Rico singer-songwriter reconnected with his artistic roots via his solo venture, which keeps expressive experimentalism at its core.

The emotively melodic structures in One Last Dance made the heart-in-throat choruses all the more riotous, in the same way Linkin Park allowed their audience to feel the sense of resonant vindication while screaming the reprise of “I’ve given up”, One Last Dance became the silver lining of heartbreak. The atmospherically intuitive hit struck all the right chords to affirm that Eguie5 is a one-man monolith of innovation.

One Last Dance hit the airwaves on June 14th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tune into Rebels in Stereo’s riotous punk rock anthem, Lace of Steel

Posted on 17 June 2023
CoVault by Rebels in Stereo

‘Lace of Steel’ is the riotously hooky seminal single from Chicago’s premier pop-punk-influenced outfit, Rebels in Stereo. Taken from their EP, CoVault, the overdriven to the nth degree hit reels you in with the edged and tight anthemics, but it is the vignette weaved through the high-octane release that keeps you immersed.

With a similar narrative to Thrash Unreal by Against Me! any female-identifying outliers that are looking for resonance will get more than they have bargained for when they delve into the punk rock anthem, which gains momentum through the modernist melodic power metal licks and the songwriting chops that are as sharp as a butcher’s cleaver.

With a new LP in the pipeline, there’s little doubt that 2023 will be the year of Rebels in Stereo. It takes far more than a powerful set of pipes to become an arresting frontwoman; thankfully, Cassidy’s vocal range is as wide-spanning as her talents in weaving soul into her superlative harmonies.

Stream and purchase Lace of Steel by heading over to Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lunacy Commission created a a riff-roaring ride of hard-hitting euphoria with their debut single, Shadow of a Doubt

Posted on 12 June 2023

With touches of Stone Sour and Foo Fighters around the razor-sharp post-hardcore/pop punk hybrid hooks, the debut single, Shadow of a Doubt, from New York’s freshest outfit, Lunacy Commission, is a riff-roaring ride of hard-hitting euphoria.

Any fans of Downstrait, Papercut Massacre, and the Veer Union won’t want to hang around before implanting Shadow of a Doubt on their playlists and saving a spot on their radar for Lunacy Commission.

Their juggernautically strong debut may have set the bar high, but we have no doubt that the best is yet to come from the instrumentally stitched tight outfit, which finished cutting their teeth while playing in the punk band The Show-Offs during middle school before remerging on the airwaves in their new outfit formed during lockdown.

Shadow of a Doubt hit the airwaves on the 2nd of June; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shift your perceptions in a brighter direction with ORCHAD’s riotously synthy call to arms, DAMAGED GOODS

Posted on 9 June 2023

‘DAMAGED GOODS’ is the latest hyper-cosmic feat of synth-driven alt-rock from Montreal’s most monolithic powerhouse, ORCHAD.

With pinches of pop-punk making the hooks even sharper, this riotous call to arms to everyone who knows how it feels to disregard themselves as broken and too idiosyncratic to love is enough to shift self-perception in a far brighter direction.

The riffs that will make you reminisce about Dragonforce are just a fraction of the hard-hitting impact of DAMAGED GOODS. With an entire generation at risk of being lost to entropy and apathy, ORCHAD delivered an upbeat anthem, fierce enough in its exhilaration to affirm that it is society that is royally fucked, not the people living through the fallout.

If you could imagine what it would sound like if the Black Parade was written today, you will get an idea of the heart-in-throat resonance you will sink your teeth into when you hit play.

“The song is about the struggles and challenges of life and mental illness, including the pressure to conform and fit in with societal norms. It encourages the listener to let go of the expectations that society places on them and to accept themselves for who they are, flaws and all.

We should all focus instead on finding solace through healthy forms of self-expression. Everyone is going through their own struggles and we really are all “damaged goods.” If we focus on loving ourselves first and “dance in the rain” you might just be able to ease the pain.”

DAMAGED GOODS will hit the airwaves on June 9th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get down with the cognitive sickness with Sarah Sunday’s hypersonic pop-punk hit, all the world is crazy

Posted on 8 June 2023

‘all the world is crazy’ is ironically a sentiment that no one of sane mind could disagree with. When Sarah Sunday used it as the proclamation in her latest hyper pop-punk anthem, she made it impossible for her audience not to get down with the endemic of cognitive sickness.

The future-pop elements around the pop-punk guitar-driven hooks created the EDM evolution that the genre has never known it needed but has silently been crying out for. If any track has what it takes to make the masses shake off the depressing presumption that they’re outliers for feeling suffocated by entropy, it’s the anthemically sticky-sweet triumph.

Her uplifting vocal energy augmenting the lyrics, which cut right to the core of the madness we’ve tried to put our heads in the sand and ignore, ensured all the world is crazy is one of the most seminal anthems of the summer. We utterly adore her.

all the world is crazy was officially released on the 1st of May; stream the aptly zany official music video via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Harri Larkin mainlined affectionate adrenaline into their pop-punk-hooked summer anthem, Dopamine

Posted on 26 May 2023

After discovering the immense talent that lingers in the larynx (it is a powerhouse in itself) of Harri Larkin through her Christmas collaboration with Sam Scherdel, we couldn’t wait to get stuck into her three-piece band’s latest single, Dopamine.

Drunk on affection-derived highs and vexed by the subsequent aftermath of anxious uncertainty, Sheffield’s hottest DIY alternative outfit pierced the funk-grooved rhythms with catchy enough to be cosmic pop-punk hooks. The summer staple that achieves elevated status through the infusion of indie guitars and demurely jazzy vocal lines that sultrily lead you into the choruses would be paralysing if they weren’t so galvanising.

After John Kennedy (Radio X) chose Harri Larkin out of 1578 other applicants to headline the BBC Introducing Library Stage at Tramlines, recording their single, Bonfire Toffee, for BBC Introducing Live in 2022 and the track was included in BBC Introducing Sheffield’s Top 50 Tracks of the Year countdown, there is no doubt in our minds that Harri Larkin will be moving on to even greater things.

Stream Dopamine, which hit the airwaves on May 26 on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Chandra’s Lighters to the Sky is a pop punk-hooked hit for the dreamers

Posted on 2 May 2023
https://soundcloud.com/listentochandra/lighters-to-the-sky/s-JjGxeKmioBv?si=ee8aab36962d40619a6fa6a62f049fe9&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Holding your lighters in the air at rock shows might be a slightly nostalgic way to signify how much a hit has touched your soul, but it’s a pretty fitting parable for the vintage rock aesthetics in Chandra’s latest single, Lighters to the Sky, which will throw you right back to the early 00s.

If you can imagine what Glen Hansard’s single, Falling Slowly, would sound like if it was boldly augmented with pop-punk hooks, you’ll get a great idea of the songwriting chops the Bristol, UK-based solo artist possesses.

Lyrically, Lighters to the Sky is an ode to the big dreamers whose visions are often met with cynicism from people with smaller ambitions. It is a stunning reminder that no one will ever be able to see the future you’re painting in your mind until you reach your respective top and exhibit it all for all to see.

Lighters to the Sky will officially release on April 28. Stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pop-Punk trailblazer, Brooklyn Belton, unveiled the ultimate adversity aftercare anthem, Just Fine

Posted on 27 April 2023

Starting with an instant hook that sounds like it came straight out of the Bowling for Soup arsenal, the debut single, Just Fine, from the Ohio pop-punk trailblazer, Brooklyn Belton, effortlessly became one of our favourite alt-rock earworms of 2023 so far.

With an instrumental arrangement so tight it is practically corseted, Brooklyn Belton polished the punk rock genre with her anthemic slice of stellar songwriting, which won’t fail to leave you galvanised for the way the exhilarant guitars wrap around her lyrics that compel you to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and deal with the cards of adversity your autonomy has dealt you.

When the chorus comes around, you’ll lose yourselves in the euphoric energy while simultaneously finding yourself in the candid introspection that perceptibly oozes from the wounds of a personal battle.

Just Fine hit the airwaves on April 14. Check it out on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Donny Meowz concocted a cocktail of cats, pop-punk and entropy in his latest single, Kitty Crushed

Posted on 21 April 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pXxJ0-bhEg

After spinning a charming pop-punk tale about a cat and its psych ward-frequenting owner, Donny Meowz will be irresistible to crazy cat ladies the world over after the launch of his latest music video, Kitty Crushed. You can probably count me among those enamoured masses.

No longer is Plea from a Cat Named Virtue the best track that traverses themes of mental health and feline affection. Donny Meowz hit all the right notes with his insanity-encompassing hit that rolls with all the entropic punches. Keep your next mental break at bay with the stellar ode to 00s emo.

Check out the official video for Kitty Crushed by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pharsalia defied physics in their pop-punk revamp, Gravity Killer

Posted on 26 February 2023

Here to prove that emo was anything but a phase is the Delaware-hailing pop-punk revampers, Pharsalia, with their latest physics-defying single, Gravity Killer.

The catchy heart-in-throat choruses have kept their original form, and there’s plenty of punch in the dynamically bouncy guitar riffs, which keep you palpitatingly sweet in the lead up to the euphoric chaos in the pit-worthy choruses. The 5-piece has made a name for itself in the local scene and beyond with its fan-first lyrical relatability and approachability. This track is only going to take their renown to the next level.

If any single has what it takes to tear your attention away from the new album material from Fall Out Boy it is this scintillatingly scorned anthem for the disenfranchised that is super-charged with earworm-y energy.

Gravity Killer hit the airwaves with the force of a hadron collider on January 27th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast