Can You See the Sunset?

Gunner’s Daughter – Trust Us When We Tell You EP

Eric — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:02:46 +0000

Last year my friends in Gunner’s Daughter released the hard-charging Trust Us When We Tell You EP and I totally didn’t write about it. I don’t feel bad about it (okay, maybe I do) but I didn’t write about a lot of music in 2011. Trust me when I tell you (see what I did there) I’m going to get to more of the really good stuff (like this) shortly.

So the EP is available for FREE via Death To False Hope Records so go download it now, then read…

You just downloaded this, right? Great, let’s continue.

Okay, what you’ve got in your downloads folder is four songs of great hardcore-influenced mid-tempo punk-rock. It’s a little less 88 Fingers Louie than their New Skeletons EP from a few years ago (also available for FREE from DTFH) but the band has also gone through a number of different members since then so it really isn’t surprising that the band’s sound has changed a bit. It is (however) a change for the better.

The vocals are gruff, the guitars are melodic, and the songs are catchy. What more could you ask for? There are breakdowns and gang vocals but neither is overused or cliched. Every note of Trust Us When We Tell You is dripping with passion and earnest sincerity. You can hear it. You can feel it. These are fucking anthems for those of us who’ve spent too many cold Chicago nights drinking PBR in dimly-lit bars while our friends pour out their hearts and bare their souls for a few dozen (or less) people.

With Trust Us When We Tell You Gunner’s Daughter delivers a serious punch to the gut, but a punch that will have you fist-pumping along with your attacker. Sure, the band’s influences are easy to figure out, but there’s no way anyone can (or should) dismiss this because of that. I can’t wait to hear a full-length from Chris, Blake and whoever they round up. So, if you like bands like Samiam, Red City Radio, Hot Water Music, Spanish Gamble and the like, do yourself a favor and download this.

Gunner’s Daughter – A High Fidelity Moment

The Gooningtons

Eric — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:41:40 +0000

A few nights ago I was driving around downtown Chicago with Ryan (he was actually driving though) and he said something like, “Have you heard the Gooningtons?” I hadn’t, so he proceed to play Welcome To Goonington Beach! and blow my mind. He also explained verbally what’s documented on this pop punk message board thread. To sum it all up, Ryan recorded 8 Ramones-core songs (written over the span of a few days) in a single afternoon and it’s incredible. I have no idea how I missed this (or why no one told me) last year, but The Gooningtons are way too amazing to just be a one-off joke band.

From what I can tell, The Gooningtons played exactly one show (Insubordination Fest) before they “broke up” so it’s a good thing there is a video of the set. It’s super fun. Live, the band was basically a pop-punk supergoup and consisted of the aforementioned Ryan (Mixtapes), Grath (Steinways/House Boat), Mikey (Ergs/everyone), and some guy named Liam. If you haven’t already, go download this (link below) right now! You won’t be disappointed.

Download: The Gooningtons – Welcome To Goonington Beach!

August Premier – Happy Miserable

Eric — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:05:07 +0000

With all the high-profile punk reunions of the past few months and years combined with the band’s relative obscurity, it would be easy for most to overlook the reunion of Chicago’s own August Premier. And that, my friends, would be a bad thing. I’m not really sure of the whole story about the reunion, but August Premier is back and the band has a new record called Happy Miserable due out March 27th on Pacific Ridge Records. More on that in a few…

Back in their heyday, August Premier put out an EP and two albums (Balloons… and Fireworks & Alcohol) with the latter released by Fueled By Ramen. After re-listening to those early records, it’s clear to me that back then AP was a talented band who wrote catchy pop-punk songs, but they were a little rough around the edges. We all were back then, right? I was also kinda surprised at just how good those old songs sounded. That being said, the 10 songs on the new August Premier record blow that old stuff away.

August Premier’s new album, Happy Miserable, follows up their great cover of Alkaline Trio’s “Sundials” (which could be the best song on that ALK3 tribute album, seriously!) and confirms that while the band hasn’t strayed far from what they used to be, they have gotten much better at what they do. It might be cliched but August Premier sounds (as you might expect after so many years) significantly more mature. The songwriting is tighter, the playing is more focused and even more urgent, and Matt Allison’s production makes the band sound better than they ever have.

From the opening verse of “Trenches” through the sing-a-long woah’s of the album’s final track, “Last Words,” August Premier delivers hard-charging and anthemic blue-collar pop-punk-rock that sounds distinctly Chicago but is deceptively hard to pigeonhole. With nods to everything from Rise Against to Journey to Alkaline Trio, Happy Miserable brings a palatable sense of longing to the table and sounds instantly familiar. These songs will immediately be right at home on your stereo without sounding exactly like something you’ve heard before. Vocalists Danny Duds and Chris Rogner both sound stronger than they ever have (the former sounds a lot like Dave Hause and the latter a lot like his own brother, those are both god things) and, musically, the songs are more streamlined than AP’s earlier material.

Really, though, this ain’t rocket science, nor does it need to be. What you get from August Premier on Happy Miserable is the sound of a veteran pop-punk band that knows exactly what they’re after now. The guys of August Premier obviously grew up listening to both The Bollweevils and Guns-n-Roses as they embrace the excess of cock-rock but surround it with the sounds of the 7″ records from their rich Chicago punk heritage. Trying and only half succeeding to combine those influences is what detracts from the band’s first few releases but rest assured that they got it 100% right on Happy Miserable.

Also, catchy-as-fuck melodies are in no short supply here. You’ll almost certainly want to sing along. And why not? This is good, fun, well-played music that is (if you’re reading this blog) probably right up your alley. All in all, Happy Miserable proves that August Premier is back in a big way. Well done guys.

Full disclosure: I’ve known the guys in August Premier for years, but that doesn’t change how I feel about this album at all. Click the play button below to stream “Trenches,” the first song from the new album.

August Premier - Trenches

Bro. Stephen – Baptist Girls

Eric — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:18:47 +0000

Bro. Stephen is the name that (Stephen) Scott Kirkpatrick records under and (lucky for all of us) he’s just released a new album called Baptist Girls which is fucking brilliant, if you like that sort of thing. It was recorded primarily in a converted chicken coop in rural Indiana but you’ll find no clucking or crowing here. Really, it’s a testament to the strength of Baptist Girls that it is just as good a record for late nights and headphones as it is for a sunny morning buoyed by cups of coffee.

Baptist Girls is largely acoustic but is anchored by slight drones and hushed-but-noisy found sounds and a a minimal of percussion so it’s not folktronica at all, but there’s a common thread between this and some of what Greg Davis has recorded. The songs are also punctuated by little bits of piano, strings, and electric guitar in all the right places. It’s really a beautifully stark and sparse album with that is understated but (at points) really catchy.

Bro. Stephen wisely enlisted the help of Cheyenne Marie Mize for Baptist Girls too. She contributes some lovely harmony vocals that perfectly compliment Bro. Stephen’s own reverb-drenched voice that sounds more like it was recorded in a cathedral than a chicken coop.

It all adds up to an album that’s got a soft ethereal sounding record that’s a bit like a WAY more mellow and more pastoral sort of Andrew Kenny project (think American Analog Set or Wooden Birds) or even Fleet Foxes, State River Widening, and/or Vermont just for the sake of comparison. It could just be the guitar tones though… Still, Baptist Girls is an affecting record that shines brighter and seems much more emotionally complex that its simplicity and bare arrangements would have you initially think.

Even for all the above praise, Baptist Girls isn’t perfect. Most songs end a bit too soon for my liking. Sure, I’m all for brevity in songwriting and being concise, but these songs leave me wanting more of them and more resolution… like an additional chorus or just some sort of ending that doesn’t feel so abrupt. Really, it’s just a minor complaint that will only force you to listen to Baptist Girls a few more times to soak it all in.

I do follow Bro. Stephen (@brostephenscott) and he’s always seemed like a good guy. He was also willing to send me a copy of this record and I’m very happy he did.

MP3: Bro. Stephen – Tears On Tape
MP3: Bro. Stephen – Domino

First post of the young year

Eric — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:05:59 +0000

Howdy folks! This is just a test post so I can properly tweak the new layout. More posts coming very very soon. I promise! If you don’t believe me, that’s OK, but you should. OK great.

Let’s get one thing straight (div test)

Some text is better than no text at all, right? Yeah, I think that some soft and mellow music would be great. Maybe something from Electric Light Orchestra or Simon & Garfunkel. Just typing nonsense about a prairie dog runing wild across the southern plains of Australia or something like that.

Have you ever said something stupid and then later regretted saying it?

Remember, it isn’t the thought that counts. It’s the loot that you need to have to succeed. It isn’t who you know it’s who you burn.

2011 Band Of The Year: Mixtapes

Eric — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:07:15 +0000

This is the first year that I’ve named a band of the year. If you’ve paid any attention at all to what I’ve posted on Twitter, Instagram, or even here, it should be a no brainer.

So officially, Can You See the Sunset from the Southside’s band of the year for 2011 is none other than Mixtapes. Yeah, that’s Ryan, Maura, Mike, and Boone. I can’t think of a more deserving band in 2011 (but I also didn’t think it would really be fair to include Mixtapes’ debut Maps on my year-end list 2 years in a row, so…

So 2011, it began with Ryan from Mixtapes sending me 3 of the songs from what would end up being their Hope Is For People 7” in January or something like that, a few missed connections and then us (that’s me, my wife, and my kids) discovering that the people in Mixtapes were some of the friendliest and most genuine people we’ve met and that they also love pizza and Reese’s cups.

I saw Mixtapes live 4 times in 2011 (5 if you count them playing acoustic in my living room) and that’s because they spent almost the entire year on the road garnering themselves quite a bit of buzz in the process. My family spent a lovely October afternoon eating pizza with Ryan and Maura in Chicago separate from any touring the band was doing, just as friends. Both my daughters (ages 6 and 2) can sing more than a few Mixtapes songs and whenever they hear Mixtapes on the stereo refer to them as “friends.” It’s pretty cool.

I guess we should also talk about the sheer volume of music that Mixtapes released in 2011. By my count (and if you count the vinyl re-release of Maps) the band released 32 songs on 4 or 5 separate releases: Castle Songs (2), Hope Is For People (6), Maps & Companions (15), and How To Throw A Successful Party (9). They’ve put out a handful of great music videos as well.

If you still aren’t convinced, this video of their last 3 songs from Fest 10 should give you at least a little idea of the sort of year it’s been for Mixtapes. Not only are they amazing songwriters and hilariously entertaining, Mixtapes are also amazing people. They’re currently writing for a new full-length that is due to be recorded in January 2012. I’m positive it won’t be anything less than epic.

Listmania: Favorite Albums of 2011 (25-01)

Eric — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:53:21 +0000

Here it is, my favorite albums of 2011. If you missed Part One, you’d better go back and check that out as well. With the holiday right around the corner and some household emergencies, I didn’t quite feel like writing much about these albums even though they are all great. Ok. Check the list and pardon the typos. Thanks.

25. Elway – Delusions (Red Scare)
I saw Elway earlier this year in Chicago before the album was released I was blown away. This album combines punk tempos and tones with some of the twang and heartache of country music… and whiskey. Lots and lots of whiskey… and beer.

24. Michael Dean Damron – Plea From A Ghost (Suburban Home)
Brutally honest and emotional folksy and/or country rock that’s as real as it gets. A stunning record.

23. Dave Hause – Resolutions (Paper + Plastick)
A solo album from the frontman of the Loved Ones? Yes please. It’s a little less punk and a little more heartland rock than the Loves Ones and I’m just fine with that. It’s earnest, it’s memorable and really really good.

22. The New Rochelles – It’s New! (Bright & Barrow)
Twelve catchy Ramones-core pop punk songs in under 15 minutes that begs for repeat listens. That, folks, is how it should be done. You know, the same way the Teen Idols did it.

21. Signals Midwest – Latitudes And Longitudes (Tiny Engines)
Catchy emoey punky post-hardcore goodness. Trust me when I say, everything/anything that Tiny Engines puts out seems to be gold.

20. Spraynard – Funtitled (Asian Man)
This is some seriously catchy Latterman-esque punk rock from Pennsylvania with some noodly (but not really emo) guitar parts thrown in for good measure. It begs to be screamed along to in basements. Also, this doesn’t sound anything like Plow United.

19. Banquets – Top Button, Bottom Shelf (Black Numbers)
This is pop punk the way that modern pop punk is meant to be played. Just enough grit and just enough melody.

18. Junior Battles – Idle Ages (Paper + Plastick)
JB made last years list with just a 4 song 7″ so that should tell you something. Seriously great pop punk from Canada that’s equal parts of The Weakerthans and early Fall Out Boy, but even that’s a bad comparison. It’s poppy but intelligent.

17. Great Cynics – Don’t Need Much (Kind Of Like)
A little bit pop punk and a little bit rock and roll. You’ll be humming these songs for days. Sometimes simplicity is the best answer.

16. Wilco – The Whole Love (dBpm)
This is a return to form for Wilco after the misstep that was Wilco The Album. It’s everything I could have asked for in a new Wilco album. Really, it is.

15. Polar Bear Club – Clash Battle Guilt Pride (Bridge Nine)
I wasn’t sure that PBC could top Chasing Hamburg but they did. It’s stronger in every way with zero wasted notes. This is hook-laden post-hardcore at it’s finest.

14. Patrick Stump – Soul Punk (Island)
Patrick Stump played and sang every note on Soul Punk himself and it’s clear he knows what he’s doing. Sure, I bashed this before I ever heard it (apologies to Chris) but this the best pop album of the year for sure.

13. Dude Jams – How To Abuse Everything (ADD)
These is some good punk jamz. #punkthefuckout

12. Young Statues – Young Statues (Run For Cover)
The best indie rock album of the year.

11. Fucked Up – David Comes To Life (Matador)
At 18 songs and almost 78 minutes long, David Comes To Life is the most exhausting album of the year, but with it’s melodies and intensity, it’s also one of the most rewarding.

10. Bomb The Music Industry – Vacation (Quote Unquote)
On Vacation it’s the the same crazy BTMI! you’ve grown to love but this time around, it’s like they’re all growed up… and stuff.

9. Good Luck – Without Hesitation (No Idea)
More noodly and anthemic pop punk from everyone’s favorite Bloomington-based trio. So so good. I’ve probably mentioned before, but I think that Ginger once stayed at my house.

8. White Wives – Happeners (Adeline)
Literate and arty indie punk featuring members of Anti Flag and American Armada. Never lacking for huge choruses and killer hooks but never satisfying for the easy way out.

7. Andy Wagner – Silos & Smokestacks (self-released)
I’d never heard of Andy Wagner before the summer. He’s a Chicago-based singer songwriter and this album is filled with bleary-yet-hopeful working-class alt-country jams. It’s so good, and the pedal steel…

6. Joyce Manor – Joyce Manor (6131)
Dane (Switchboard Sessions) put these guys on a mix CD he made for me back in February and introduced me to these guys. The music is noisy, dissonant and colored with shades of Midwestern emo. It pushes the boundaries of what pop punk is but it’s also insanely catchy.

5. Restorations – Restorations (Tiny Engines)
Resto-fucking-rations! Is it post-hardcore? Is it Americana? Is it indie-pop? Yes.

4. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones (Epitaph)
Either Frank Turner came out of nowhere this year or I just hadn’t been paying attention before. I mean, there’s seriously not a bad song on this incredibly captivating album. He is THE troubadour.

3. The Copyrights – North Sentinel Island (Red Scare)
North Sentinel Island isn’t much of a change from what the Copyrights have always done, but there’s a subtle maturity to these songs, easily the strongest batch that the band has yet put together. Also, probably my wife’s favorite album of the year.

2. The War On Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)
Imagine a cross between the folksy melodies of Bob Dylan, the rock of Tom Petty and the swirling atmospheric synth-pop of M83 and that’s sorta what this sounds like, but better.

1. Red City Radio – The Dangers Of Standing Still (Paper + Plastick)
It’s kinda fitting that this album tops my list. I initially was a tad critical of the album on the Rock and Roll Brunch podcast, but quickly realized my error in judgement. RCR delivers non-stop balls-to-the-wall gruff-yet-melodic pop punk with some of the best harmonies I’ve heard in long time.

Listmania: Favorite Albums of 2011 (50-26)

Eric — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:08:55 +0000

Let me just preface all of this by saying how much I hate making these lists. There’s no good way to do it. Everything on this list is great and the placements are general at best. Although I’ve numbered the list, there is zero science behind it. Next year I might just make it alphabetical. Now that’s done…

Wow! I think that’s a great way to sum up 2011 in music. During a year in which I was noticeably absent from this blog there sure was a shit-ton of great music released. Still, despite not writing about music much in 2011, I managed to enjoy music more this year than any I can remember since this blog began back in 2005.

You see, that’s the problem with music blogging. There’s this incredible sense of duty/pressure to keep up with the latest trends and hottest indie rock bullshit, but that’s really just what it is (mostly). I have no desire to be a part of that rat race, besides, with the exception of a few artists, I don’t listen to the same music that indie rock crowd does.

Honestly, I’m 100% sure that it is impossible for any one person to keep up with “music” when you take into account the proliferation of genres and micro-genres and the ease with which people can record relatively good quality material these days. My new mantra is something along the lines of, “Why even try?”

I know I missed more than a handful of great (and highly recommended albums) this year and was able to only give a little bit of attention to even more. From the likes of Reverse the Curse, Andrew Jackson Jihad, The Eternals, Wild Flag, Wolves and the Radio, M83, Beirut, Josh T. Pearson, Laura Stevenson, Pickering Pick, Young Mountain, The Horrible Crowes, Wavelets, Mastodon, JC Brooks, Steve Earle, Title Fight, Tellison, etc, the list could stretch on for miles. There aren’t enough hours in the day and isn’t enough money in my wallet to get to everything. This is (after all) a list of my 50 favorite albums of 2011. Consider the above honorable mentions.

So without further ado, here is part one of the list. PLEASE do yourself a favor and purchase any/all of the music here that you’ve been hesitating on. Being in a touring band is hard work and these folks need/deserve your support.

50. Static Radio NJ – We Are All Beasts (Kiss Of Death)
Significantly more pop-punk and less hardcore than their last album (that’s a good thing). Also, this more like Nirvana than I thought it was possible to in 2011.

49. Russian Circles – Empros (Sargent House)
Here’s the token “heavy” album from my list. To be totally honest, I didn’t listen to much that could be considered “heavy” in 2011. Whatever. This album slays.

48. Water Tower Bucket Boys – Sole Kitchen (Cohouse)
Quite possibly the best old-timey bluegrass band that Portland has to offer. These guys sure can play, and it makes me wanna drink and stomp my feet.

47. The Heat Tape – Raccoon Valley Recordings (Red Scare)
This is the lo-fi side project of Brett from The Copyrights. It’s punkish rock and roll that is catchy-as-hell and isn’t dissimilar at all to The Thermals, etc…

46. Mike Park – Smile (Asian Man)
Mike Park made a record for children/families/etc… and my kids love this, so I love this. Seriously, I’d love it even if my kids thought it sucked.

45. Hawks And Doves – Year One (No Idea)
Guess what? Garrett from Planes Mistaken For Stars is back with Hawks And Doves and while listening to this doesn’t make me wanna slit my wrists, it’s not really sunshine and roses.

44. Austin Lucas – A New Home In The Old World (Last Chance)
Austin Lucas has one of the greatest and most distinctive voices in alt-roots music today. This album is probably the most rockingest album he’s released, and also his best.

43. New Found Glory – Radiosurgery (Epitaph)
I was disappointed after my first listen but that changed after a few listens. Radiosurgery is easily one of the better albums NFG has released, but did they seriously spend 40+ days in the studio?

42. William Elliott Whitmore – Field Songs (Anti)
These songs are as honest as the black Iowa dirt William Elliott Whitmore calls home. It’s a more stripped down affair than his last album, and I like it more.

41. The Wonder Years – Suburbia I’ve Given You All And Now I’m Nothing (No Sleep)
Personally, I liked The Upsides more, but this is still a tremendously strong pop punk album. As an aside, my daughter colored a picture and gave it Soupy a few months ago. Cool kid indeed.

40. Big Kids – Phone Home (Protagonist)
Hmmm… is there emo in this punk or is there punk in this emo? However you call it, these are some seriously fun tunes that remind me a little (lot) of that thing that Joyce Manor does. The singer also sounds a little like Jeff Rosenstock.

39. Banner Pilot – Heart Beats Pacific (Fat Wreck)
Have I fallen out of love with Banner Pilot? I don’t think so, but why isn’t this higher on my list? It’s the exact same infectious and gruff Midwestern pop-punk they’ve been playing since day one. It’s not you, it’s me.

38. Woods – Sun And Shade (Woodsist)
If you like sprawling lo-fi indie folk that’s as catchy as it is drawn out, you should get lost in the woods.

37. Algernon Cadwallader – Parrot Files (Big Scary Monsters)
This is real emo for the real emo kids. Do you like Cap’n Jazz or Street Smart Cyclist? Then you already love this, right?

36. The Wooden Birds – Two Matchsticks (Barsuk)
Who knew that former American Analog Set frontman Andrew Kenny would recruit Matt Pond into The Wooden Birds for the band’s second album. Kinda sounds like exactly what we’ve come to expect from him, and it’s great.

35. Basement – I Wish I Could Stay Here (Run For Cover)
This is post-hardcore/emo/punk from the UK that gives nods to the likes of Crime In Stereo and also your favorite new band in this genre . The album is album gray and chilly in tone and is perfect winter music.

34. How Dare You – The King, The Clown, & The Colonel (Anchorless)
More straightforward (that means less overt hardcore influence) than the band’s previous album but more melodic and probably catchier. What is it about Florida and all the great music?

33. Left Lane Cruiser – Junkyard Speedball (Alive)
This is easily the most diverse album yet from these Fort Wayne, IN punkass blues dudes. Five songs feature Reverend James Leg of the Black Diamond Heavies on keys. It’s pretty bitchin’.

32. Nothington – Borowed Time (Red Scare)
I loved Nothington’s last two albums, and this one is no exception. It’s Bay Area punk painted in shades of Leatherface and Social Distortion. I’m guessing that, in time, this will make it’s way nearer the top of this list.

31. Flashlights – I’m Not Alone (self-released)
I like Superchunk and Built To Spill, but probably not as much as these guys. Let the nostalgia flow like wine and just enjoy this fuzzed out power pop gem.

30. Into It Over It – Proper (No Sleep)
Finally a proper full-length from that guy who ate pizza in that one Mixtapes video. Honestly, I had no idea this record would be this good, and with songs ranging from sparse to full-band post-hardcore, it’s remarkably cohesive.

29. Future Virgins – Western Problems (Starcleaner)
Raw. Garagey. Catchy. Breakneck. Bluesy. Punk. Rock. This album will punch you and take your girlfriend out for a milkshake.

28. Living With Lions – Holy Shit (Adeline)
I’m not sure what it is about LWL, but something about this album is really comforting. It’s nothing more than really well-played an ultra-melodic pop punk, but I’ll be damned if there isn’t something more here. The mysteries of music…

27. Chuck Ragan – Covering Ground (Side One Dummy)
Chuck Ragan can do no wrong and Covering Ground picks up exactly where his last album Gold Country left off. You know, Chuck’s bellowing voice accompanied by acoustic guitar and the usual cast of characters.

26. Direct Hit – Domesplitter (Kind Of Like)
Fuck you! Get pumped!

Ok. That’s it for now. Stay tuned for the second part of the list tomorrow or the next day… or not.

6 Great Albums From 2010 That I Missed Last Year

Eric — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:06:44 +0000

All these albums would have been on my best of 2010 list (or at least damn close) had I heard them all earlier.

Robyn – Body Talk
I think it was late December of 2010 when I became infatuated with Robyn’s infectious dance-pop. I haven’t been able to shake it since.

The Arrivals – Volatile Molotov
Wow. How good have The Arrivals become? I remember what the band was like damn near 10 years ago, and this is definitely not the same band. Volatile Molotov would have easily made my top 10 list from last year.

Black Sails, Western Shores – Half Way Home
From Bakersfield, CA and available for FREE from Death To False Hope. RIYL: Hot Water Music. Now you have no excuse for not listening to this.

Sleigh Bells – Treats
Obnoxious as hell but so damn fun. Easily one of the funnest records of 2010. My daughters love this album and generally go bananas whenever they hear “Infinity Guitars.”

The Wild – Set Ourselves Free
Released digitally by Quote Unquote and physically by Asian Man Records. This is the best indie folk punk I’ve heard in quite some time.

Make Do And Mend – End Measured Mile
Hard-hitting punk/hardcore that takes cues from HWM (and the like) but brings something fresh and new to the table. This album makes me wanna scream at the top of my lungs.