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.
Waiting For The Dawn can go one of two ways: shuffled in with your summer CD collection to be blasted while driving down the highway, or excavated for a vastly deeper meaning. The album is conscientious in its commentary; always offering nuggets of wisdom and fresh ways to revamp your worldview for the brighter.
With their third effort J.A.C.K., Forever The Sickest Kids do away with their slew of co-writers and producers, yet the end product, while fun and enjoyable, seems to lack much direction.
Disclaimer: Whenever, If Ever is a love/hate record. If you “get it,†you will be completely floored by its use of vast atmospheric textures and timbres, as well as its nostalgia factor. If you don’t, it will be a whiny, fragmented, enigmatic record that will be a struggle to listen to.
Liferuiner have decided to abandon their ties with old tracks like “A Ticket To The Pussy Crusher†and are trying to write honest, optimistic, and influential songs using key ingredients of melodic metalcore and straightedge hardcore: detuned guitars, predictable breakdowns, and lyrics pertaining to life’s inevitable struggles, hardships, and misery.
Forever Halloween digs deep to unearth some serious human truths – and sounds appropriately mature doing so. The album boasts worldliness in comparison to The Maine’s earlier catalogue, and it’s evident from the authenticity of the collection how effectively the members have channeled their experience of growing up into their work.
After the success of their debut full-length last year, Misser have established themselves as an important component of the rising indie pop punk scene. The Distancing EP offers yet another couple songs for fans to sink their teeth into, as well as coming off as another collection of stories that the band needed to get off their chest.
The range present in Man Overboard’s third full-length Heart Attack epitomizes the fluidity of the term “pop punk,†making the album a must-have for anyone that considers themselves a fan of the genre.
While they have always been known as more of a pop band, rather than a rock band, this time around on Biography of Heartbreak, This Century strips away any rock or punk sensibilities they once had and go straight for the Top 40 pop sound.
Koji’s first full-length release delves deep into the artist’s mind to explore the everlasting journey toward solace and acceptance. As a collection of art, it is supremely relatable by serving as a case study of the universal human experience.
