Sorority Noise "No Halo" Track review and cover of Brand New's "Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis"

Sorority Noise will be releasing their newest record, You're Not As ___ As You Think, on March 17 via Triple Crown Records. The band's first single, "No Halo" is an intimate and heart wrenching song about dealing with the passing of a friend, something I can personally relate to all too much and too often. The song starts off with an upbeat guitar line reminiscent of some of the best early 2000's emo acts like Taking Back Sunday and Brand New. Cam Boucher finds himself set in the emotional turmoil of dealing with loss of a friend and not being able to be there and battling the urge to leave himself as he sings, "When God called you to fulfill a vacancy I tried to see why it wasn't me."
In my opinion this is the strongest and most vulnerable I have seen the band thus far and I thank you for that , Cam.
Keep on!



I mentioned Brand New earlier and it fits perfectly as Sorority Noise just released a cover of "Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis" for the purpose of getting people involved and to donate to the ACLU. The cover is a beautifully haunting stripped down version that Cam is so good at producing, and it just so happens to be one of my favorite Brand New tracks.



Both of Cam's bands, Sorority Noise and Old Gray will be donating all proceeds from sales on their bandcamp to the ACLU. Please make sure to donate and buy yourself some great music from great humans in this critical time in our existence. Also make sure to go see Cam perform with Jeff Rosenstock, Ben Hopkins of PWR BTTM, and Eskimeaux in Brooklyn on February 3 to benefit CAIR-NY (Council on American-Islamic Relations).

Hurry 'Casual Feelings' Review

Earlier this year Hurry released Guided Meditations, a full length filled with 90's inspired, nostalgia filled tracks and messages, and now the band is back with a new 3 song ep called Casual Feelings, and it's fantastic.

Hurry is becoming one of my go to bands for all purposes. The songs are relatable and always bring me to other points in my life to reminisce or make me think of the future in a way that doesn't make me sick. The record moves along at the best pace. I don't feel this urgency to get through the songs even though sometimes the lyrical content hits too close to home. It's a slow burn and it moves at a great speed. It needs multiple spins though.

The title track "Casual Feelings" is the standout track for me. Sometimes I buy these really old records from thrift stores. The kind of records that are called "Honeymoon in Paris" or "Vacation in Rome" and I have this daydream of waking up with someone I care about, and it's warm and sunny, and the windows are open, and I put on those records because they are silly but nice, and then we make breakfast or something... yeah I like that stuff, ok? But anyways, this song makes me think of that.

Casual Feelings is out 10/21 on Lame-O Records.
Stream the ep on Brooklyn Vegan
Read my review of Guided Meditations.

Hurry will be laying:
10/14 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
10/15 Cleveland, OH @ Mahal's w/ Slingshot Dakota, Kississippi
10/28 Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA w/ Eric Slick, Cherry, Cave People
11/18 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge w/ Valley Lodge
12/17 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer w/ The Starting Line, Jank

City Of Caterpillar Reunion Shows and Record Repress

Perhaps one of the most exciting pieces of music news that I've heard in a while is that legendary screamo giants City Of Caterpillar are not only repressing their only and incredible self-titled LP, but that the band in its original lineup is getting back together for the first time in 13 years for a handful of live performances.

City of Caterpillar bridged the gap between hardcore, punk, and indie. Their influence can be seen in most modern hardcore and punk bands. In their short existence in the early 2000's the band managed to create something that still to this day seems fresh and which transcends genre's but also the constant changing musical landscape. This record is both beautiful and chaotic. It's progressive. It's an instant classic in so many tight knit circles. This is passion. This is beautiful.

Stream the record on bandcamp.
Order the repress through Repeater Records.

City of Caterpillar will play:
Friday, Jan 13, 2017 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter w/ Bermuda Triangles, Big No
Saturday, Jan 14, 2017 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas w/ HIRS, Pinkwash
Sunday, Jan 15, 2017 - Washington DC @ Black Cat Backstage w/ Pygmy Lush, Malady
Monday, Jan 16, 2017 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus w/ Big Hush, Ghastly City Sleep

The Grebes "WinterNights" and "Colony" Track Reviews

The Grebes are releasing a new ep entitled DarkDays//WinterNights on September 13 and previous to that release they premiered two new songs on bandcamp. "WinterNights" and "Colony" and they are so good.

The band mixes folk with indie and they do it so well. "WinterNights" has a nice slow burn to it. It builds up to so many points where it should flow over the top into something massive but The Grebes always keep it controlled which I think works even better. The build up to the overflow happens to much and it's really great to see a band hold back without holding back. The musicianship and vocals are always on too.

"Colony" got me completely fucked up. I won't lie. I got chills, and after reading the facebook post about the song itself it hit even harder. All I can really say is that it's really wonderful to see a person who has dealt with heavy abandonment and who has channeled those feelings and has created something so powerful and inspiring. My hat goes off to you my friend. Thank you for this.

Stream both of these songs on bandcamp.
See them on the 14th at the Middle East.

Suburban Living "Come True" Track Review

Suburban Living just finished recording their sophomore record entitled Almost Paradise which will be out 10/07 via the great 6131 Records. The band released their first single "Come True" courtesy of Impose Magazine early last week.

The track kicks off in a synth daydream until the drums kick in followed by guitar. The song reminds me of something from Twin Peaks. It has that dreamy, white noise aspect to it, and the vocals have a far off quality to them and they sit pretty even with the rest of what's going on. Though sometimes they drift a little further and it gives the song some nice depth. All the different layers, from the synth and drums moving the song forward, to the guitars fluttering in and out, to the constant noise deep in the mix and the effected vocals make this a really solid first offering from this new record. There's lots here to get into and get lost in. Get to it.

Almost Paradise will be out 10/07
Stream "Come True" over at Impose Magazine.

They play 10/08 in Philly at The Foundry

American Football "I've Been So Lost For So Long" Track Review

I never thought I would be able to do this, write a review for American Football, without going back to their self-titled record, but here I am. The self-titled record released back in September of '99 on Polyvinyl has been a staple of my musical influence and a record that has kept a steady rotation on my record player and in my car. It's beautiful, real, vulnerable, and one of the first records I bought as a newcomer to punk, early emo, and hardcore. I am proud to say I have turned many of my friends on to this band with over-excitement.

Now here we are, on the brink of a new record simply titled American Football like the last, and we have our first single. Like I mentioned, I never thought I would be doing this for a new song or record from American Football, and honestly that was ok. It's like some movies that are better left alone, no remakes, no comebacks. It's one of those things where their first record is held so high in so many people's eyes that can a new record compete? But maybe competition isn't what it's about. It's not what should be focused on. Yes, the first record is perfect, but times change, people grow, styles differ, and that will never change the fact that that record is amazing, but it shouldn't hurt the new record at all. It's American Football releasing an American Football record, and it should be looked at as such... Wow, ok sorry for the rant.

So here we are with the first single, "I've Been So Lost For So Long" and it is really nice. On the first few listens I could do nothing but smile. There's great guitar tones and single note patterns with shaky drums and a few nice time signatures and changes. Mike Kinsella is an amazing lyricist and vocalist. I have always been in love with his style and it's still on point. As far as the lyrical content goes, it hits home for me, even as far as the song title goes. It's only recently that I've really figured out who I am as an individual and what I want, so lines like "If you find me, could you please remind me, why I should wake up tomorrow" strike a cord in me. I like this a lot. I don't want to assume the rest of the record will follow suit, but I know either way, it will be incredible.

Stream "I've Been So Lost For So Long" now on Pitchfork.
Pre-order the new record now at Polyvinyl.

Some upcoming shows:
Oct 29 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
Jan 28 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Feb 11 - London, UK @ O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Feb 25 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Ace Hotel Theatre

Desert Sharks 'Template Hair' Review

Desert Sharks released this ep Template Hair in June via MANIMAL Records. The Brooklyn-based rockers mix a combination of garage punk, motorcycle rock, surf punk, and great 90's vibes to create three catchy rocking-as-fuck songs.

The ep opens with the fast paced "crazycrazy" about being legit crazy not silly crazy. Like killing some dude in a hotel kind of crazy. I'm a big fan of singer Stephanie Gunther's vocals and the musicianship is top notch. Some really great solo parts that are super surfy and rule.

My favorite track on the ep is "Ooh, Hey." The riffs, the tempo, the vocals. You just want to move. Head bobbing, cruising, dancing, all of the above, which leads into the last track "Black Moon" which is similar in style to the previous track but it's kind of sinister sounding. The riffs and tom work are so rad.

Get into this band. Grab the ep on tape and listen to it like 30 times in a row because you can and it's worth it. And see them live when you can. Their live show is great.

Stream Template Hair here.
Get the tape from bandcamp.
See some pics I took of them Live in Manchester as the Fuzz Hut here.