PUP is a well known punk rock band out of Toronto. Ahead of their new album Morbid Stuff, to be released April 5, 2019, PUP released their single “Kids” along with a futuristic sci-fi video (released on January 30th, 2019) which takes place 40 years in the future, ‘Toronto 2059’.
As much as every fiber of my being is trying to tug at the tendons in my fingers to walk you through the details of the science fiction music video, I think it’s best you check that out for yourself. (Link at the bottom)
As I began to listen to the song it felt depressing; as most punk rock songs do. The song opens with a verse that crushes your soul, throws it in the trash, and then crushes the trash. I mean, just read this verse:
“Just like we’re kids
I’ve been navigating my way through the finite reality of a godless existence
Which, at this point in my hollow and vapid life,
has erased what little ambition I’ve got left
And I’ve embraced the calamity
With an attachment and a passive disinterest”
However! As I continued listening I realized it was a love song. I know right? It’s definitely not your typical love song. Some verses leave me thinking perhaps that love is hurting him even more. Despite hating everything and not caring about anything, the one thing he cares about is his love.
“I’m pretty happy lying here with you
It’s pretty good to feel something
I don’t care about nothing but you
No I don’t care about nothing
I don’t care about nothing but you”
You can draw your own opinions from the lyrics, that’s what songs are for. I’m going to stand by it being a love song, or something close to caring a little bit about anything. After all, I’m a romantic. Be sure to check out the video because if you’re a sci-fi fan like I am, it just adds to the experience.
The Dirty Nil, an Ontario punk rock band, released their album Master Volume on September 14, 2018. Today, they released their music video for their song “Pain of Infinity”. I’ve been following the Dirty Nil for a few years now and when I saw clips of them rocking out in the middle of the woods dressed as grim reapers I thought, “wtf is this, a heavy metal video?” Which would be totally fine, it’s just not the band I thought I knew. Once I finally got the chance to sit down and watch the video, I decided that I’m a quick to judge moron.
The video shows the three band mates dressed in full reaper garb in the middle of the woods rocking out with guitar scythes lit on fire. I’ll admit, in this moment I still thought, “wtf is going on”, but I quickly was shown the humor.
The video progresses to the 3 band members getting disciplined by their reaper boss that their soul count has been extremely low. To avoid getting fired, they begin to collect souls in the most ridiculous ways. At one point, the 3 reapers are just hot boxing a car. All the while, their reaper boss is following them making sure they’re collecting souls. This reminded me of the Workaholics but in reaper form, of course.
The video had me grinning all the way through until the very end, which is when I audibly laughed. The Dirty Nil reapers appear again in the middle of the woods with all their instruments jamming out the ending of their song (as most music videos depict), when suddenly their reaper boss appears with his clipboard, yelling “What are you doing…what are you doing?! It’s 10:30am, YOU’RE FIRED!”
The Dirty Nil posted this message on their site:
BY SIGNING THIS CONTRACT, I SURRENDER MY SOUL TO THE DIRTY NIL, AND UPON ABANDONING MY MORTAL COIL WILL BE ENTERED INTO A LIFE OF ROCK AND ROLL GLORY FOR ALL OF ETERNITY.
BY HANDING OVER MY SOUL, I WILL BE REWARDED WITH THE GREATEST RICHES THAT ONLY THE DIRTY NIL CAN BESTOW UPON ME.
GOD IS DEAD.
LONG LIVE THE NIL.
Check out their music video below, not only does the song kick-ass, the video is hilarious.
Now, I stumbled upon this band by absolute chance and I’m glad I did. I’m going to be honest and call a spade a spade. From what I could find, this band is brand new. The oldest music I dug up on them was from 2018 and there is not much. With that being said, and from what I did find… they’re going to blow up.
The New Heat is an indie/punk rock band from London and their name says it all. Their single “No Way Back” is going to be released February 15th and it is coming with a music video. (You can catch a 30 sec preview of this video from their twitter in the description).
My interpretation of their song is that of a break up. It told a story of an unhappy relationship with the happy ending being their separation. This verse is an example of a place we’ve all been before:
“Drinking gin with all your friends, they don’t think I’m good enough for them.. and I’ve had enough”
The relationship reached a point where there was no going back, “Nothing you can ever say will ever take the pain away.” Although there was hardship, the verses and chorus continue a story of knowingly leaving a relationship for the better:
“So lets just celebrate, don’t be so down and blue, I never hesitated before I met you”
“Nothing you can ever do will ever bring me back to you”
The New Heat seem to tell a story of heartache and possibly healing. That’s just my interpretation. You can catch 2 of the members of the band playing a full live version of the track on a rooftop in London in the link below. Check these guys out.
Let me preface this entire article, by letting you all know, I will be seeing Free Throw open up for Tiny Moving Parts at the end of March.
I have been crawling out of my skin all day to get home, crack open a beer, and write about the BEST song of February. Free Throw is an American Punk Rock band straight out of Nashville, and if that sentence doesn’t allude to objectively good music, I don’t know what does. “The Corner’s Dilemma” is the first single from their new album “Whats Past is Prologue” (being released March 29th) and if this track is any indication of the music to come, let me tell ya, you are in for a whirlwind of emotion. I don’t know whether to blast this song and rock out or to turn off the lights a cry… maybe both?
This confusion is due to two aspects. The first, is that the lyrics are possibly the most relatable and well written that I’ve heard since “Your Wild Years” by the Menzingers (subjective). The second, is that the tempo changes from ‘dive head first into a mosh pit’ to ‘stare out of a rainy window covered in a blanket’. As much as the pace of the song makes you feel like you’re on a roller-coaster of screaming ups and whispering downs, the true essence of this track is in the lyrics.
The way Free Throw writes about social anxiety and depression is so spot on in every single verse and chorus that I want to quote the entire lyrics. The song opens with a verse:
“A room full of people, too anxious to mingle
My brain yells at me “it’s the perfect time
To get existential, your body’s a rental”
Push back, tell myself that I’m just fine
More people show up, I think I might throw up
Go out for some fresh air to clear out my mind
There’s more people out there this shit is a nightmare
I wanna go home, but I’ll piss off my ride”
Now, if anyone out there has even just a tad bit of social anxiety, you can relate to this verse. There have been an uncountable amount of times that I’ve been out, whether it be a party or a bar and I felt the need to get away from everyone. Usually you can walk out the back door of someone’s house and find some relief in being alone for a minute. Not in this story. When faced with this dilemma there is only one thing you can really do:
“So I’ll just keep drinking
And hope for the best
Let my brain do the rest
Man, fuck it whatever I guess”
Now, the song continues to story social anxiety but it also brings up depression. The social anxiety is illustrated through this one example of feeling a certain way in a social setting. The depression is a feeling about your entire existence. This is heard in the chorus:
“Sometimes I think I’ve wasted my whole life
Chasing my pipe dreams with shots and a whole lot of beer
A part of me figures there’s no fight left in the shell of a person I became this year”
The song continues this pattern with verses of social anxiety and depression that are shouted viscerally, while the chorus is sung with a tone of understanding. Like I said, a roller-coaster. I can’t wait to see these guys live and as mentioned, this is the BEST song released in February. The only way I’m wrong is if in continues to be the best song longer than that. Give it a listen, and try to tell me I’m wrong.
As a long time fan and after much anticipation, The Holdup has released their latest studio album, Killing Time. This is especially thrilling for me as the band had been releasing certain singles from the album every two weeks for the better part of the second half of 2018 and now the time has finally come.
For those unfamiliar, and in some cases even for current fans, you may be surprised to know that The Holdup theoretically and always has consisted of only one true member: lead vocalist/guitarist Mike Garmany of San Jose, CA. Garmany has been responsible for writing and recording music for The Holdup since their first album, Stay Gold, while rotating musicians into various band positions based on the sound and vision he wishes to convey to the fans.
Since their origin in 2006, they have found success in multi-genre music fans by blending reggae, hip-hop, and pop flawlessly, and Killing Time stays true to this pattern without the songs sounding repetitive, despite releasing a 20 track album (Intro and an Outro included). Having an emphasis on the reggae aspect of the music, The Holdup has gained respect from other powerhouses in the reggae genre such as The Dirty Heads, Pepper, Sublime with Rome, and even Rebelution.
Along with a distinctive voice, Garmany has always managed to take what could be considered a standard reggae guitar sound and turn it into something much more complex. Tracks such as “Braindead”, “Gas in the Tank”, “Ugly”, and “Desert Island” are only a sliver of what I’d like to consider a “complete album”, scratching every itch that I’ve had as a fan of the The Holdup since I was introduced to them in 2010.
It’s only February, but I think it’s safe to say I’ll still be listening to this album on the beach with my shades on by the time summer rolls around. Crack open a cold one, kick up your feet, and enjoy the music. -AD
Manchester Orchestra is a group that can most effortlessly be described by their name. They emit the sound and sensation of an orchestra. Manchester Orchestra’s sound can be ‘defined’ as indie/alternative rock and even emo. They have managed to produce songs that can be both calm and patient like “Simple Math” which in their video depicts a slow-motion car crash as symbolism, to songs like “Shake It Out” that triggers a rush of adrenaline and features a heavy guitar riff followed by the visual montage of a trucker driving from arm wrestling tournament to arm wrestling tournament until he becomes the champion.
The Front Bottoms are a group that have truly evolved from a place where you would never imagine a collaboration with such a band like Manchester Orchestra, to a group in which it was almost inevitable given the circumstances. The Front Bottoms began as a two-piece band with lead vocalist and guitarist Brian Sella and drummer Mat Uychich. In the beginning the two friends would incessantly write songs and record them as crudely and quickly as possible with the help of other close friends who, at times, would add in their trumpet or keyboard. The Front Bottoms were described as a folk/emo punk rock band. As they have matured their band grew to include a bassist, and keyboard/back-up guitar player. They now are often described as indie/alternative rock as well, and this is exactly how this collaboration sewed the two bands together seamlessly.
Manchester Orchestra and The Front Bottoms were on tour together and by a twist of fate, what started out as a writing exercise grew into a single released by the two bands. Andy Hull, the lead vocalist of Manchester Orchestra, sent the melody to Brian Sella and Brian wrote his signature narrator perspective for the chorus. “Allentown” is a complimentary piece of the two bands shown best by Brian Sella and Andy Hull’s vocals. The song opens with a simplistic keyboard progression that joins into Brian and Andy harmonizing the main chorus and overall theme.
“I am on a journey to discover what it’s like
To be free of all my demons, to be free of all my demons”
Andy continues to sing through the verses as the song progresses with minimal instruments supporting their lyrics. This provides an incredibly meditative sound due to the relaxed downbeat melody. The chorus comes back in to be met by Brian overlapping Andy in a melodic and somewhat trippy harmony.
Although the song itself has a peaceful vibe, the lyrics are quite dark. The opening chorus alludes to the impending despair in the beginning verses by speaking about this voyage to escape their problems.
“The drugs from all our parents stuck inside our veins
I traded you for Vicodin, just doing my thing
I used to be a lawyer, now I just talk a lot
I’m the King of Allentown, this parking lot”
Manchester Orchestra (left) The Front Bottoms (right)
Their single “Allentown” was released back in November and there hasn’t been any new tracks released since. From this single alone, I personally hope to see the two bands team up again. It could be assumed that due to their busy touring schedule they haven’t had the time to work on any other collaborations, and based on how well this single was accepted, perhaps they plan to work together again in the future.
hipshy music 