Imagine your dream festival lineup — and then imagine it’s happening a thousand miles away and you have no chance of getting there. Music fans in the Netherlands experience this constantly, but thankfully Mildtfest in Eindhoven came to the rescue with a full day of pop punk jams on May 17th.
On their appropriately titled debut LP, Youth, Citizen unsurprisingly addresses coming-of-age angst – typical fodder for most young, earnest pop punk bands – yet somehow they accomplish it without sounding stale or cliche.
What You Don’t See is one of the most anticipated records of 2013, yet fans have no reason to fear a sophomore slump. The Story So Far have returned with another album full of energetic, aggressive songs while still managing to demonstrate growth in their sound.
Living Like Ghosts has made a big but potentially necessary move in its hunt for rock stardom: the jettisoning of two members, including a third guitarist, from its lineup. It would be hard for any band to justify a six-string attack, and the now four-piece group from Detroit is free to roam the country in a much roomier tour van and spread its shiny pop rock tunes to audiences near and far.
