Please Remain Calm stands as an anthem for a lost generation. In a time of questions and heartache, Hostage Calm rises to the occasion to capture the story of the youth in a dwindling nation.
Full of anger and personal regrets, Handguns use their debut full-length to get everything off their chests. With creative punk thrills and pop punk driven chord progressions, Angst is sure to make pop punk fans everywhere happy.
The xx’s second album Coexist feels a bit like floating aimlessly through space with no propulsion of energy in any particular direction. While some of the songs manage to maintain a simmering sensuality with Romy Madley Croft’s sweet voice delivering honest lyrics and enough repetition to elicit the feelings through heartfelt laments, most of the songs seem to remain unadorned and flat or build up to only thin air and the feeling that you’ve just barely missed out on the point.
The American Scene’s seamless blend of honest, heartfelt lyrics and expressive vocals with slick, refined musicianship makes Safe For Now one of the most solid releases of the summer.
After the release of the subpar first single “Go To Hell,†the expectations for Go Radio’s newest release Close The Distance suddenly plummeted to average. But don’t let the initial cynicism stop you – Close The Distance turns out to be a solid album that pop rock fans should get their hands on as soon as possible.
In an age where sometimes it seems that computers have replaced instruments and auto-tune has replaced voice lessons, from time to time it’s best to go back to the basics of raw simplicity – to show off your untainted, unrestricted talent in a stripped-down and intimate way. Joshua Michael Robinson’s Intentions does just that, combining powerful lyrics with modest instrumentals that really shine the spotlight on his distinctive voice.
For their second studio album Floral Green, Title Fight stuck to what they do best – doing whatever they very well please. Produced by Will Yip (Citizen, None More Black), the album is pristine yet raw and shows an originality many bands today lack.
Such Gold’s debut full-length Misadventures takes the problems everyone can relate to and turns them into gut-twisting melodic hardcore songs. Known for their catchy EP’s, this time around the band has dropped the sing-a-long choruses and traded them in for a more complex sound with the help of producer Steve Evetts (Lifetime, Saves The Day, Every Time I Die).
With their self-titled EP, Sparks The Rescue have taken everything that was great about their last album – the catchy lyrics, the progressiveness of their sound, that “get up and dance†attitude – and fused it with their old school style to create an unforgettable seven-track compilation sure to get you off your feet with their first independent release since parting ways with Fearless Records.
Fresh from the golden state, Silver Snakes are joining a wave of contemporaries who are putting the rock back into punk rock.
