The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.
New Found Glory are streaming a new song titled “Anthem For The Unwanted” of their upcoming album, Radiosurgery, due out September 27th on Epitaph Records. Two more new songs will also be streamed this week on KROQ.com.
New Found Glory will be hitting the road this fall on the Pop Punk’s Not Dead Tour featuring Set Your Goals, The Wonder Years, Man Overboard and This Time Next Year.
Check out New Found Glory’s “Radiosurgery” video the first single off their new album.
Punk-rockers Alkaline Trio have released plans to immediately record a new album featuring a collection of stripped down songs. The group will re-record tunes from their seven studio albums in addition to cranking out brand new songs for fans on the new album, which will be released by Epitaph/Heart & Skull this summer.
The following tour dates for Alkaline Trio have already been released, leading up to the release of the album:
4/27 – West Chester, PA – The Note
4/28 – Providence, RI – Lupo’s
4/29 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
4/30 – East Rutherford, NJ – Bamboozle
5/1 – Towson, MD – The Recher Theatre
Weezer has announced on their twitter account that they have signed to Epitaph Records. The band will release their new album, Hurley, on September 14th.
Check out the video for Every Time I Die’s latest music video for the song “Wanderlust”. Make sure to pick up their new album New Junk Aesthetic in stores September 15th, and on the Epitaph tour with Bring Me The Horizon (for tour dates click “Read More”)
[myspace]http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=62369103[/myspace]
Epitaph Tour (Featuring Every Time I Die & Bring Me The Horizon) Dates:
Sept 8 – Epic – Minneapolis, MN
Sept 9 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
Sept 10 – Beaumont Club – Kansas City, MO
Sept 11 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
Sept 12 – Murray Theatre – Salt Lake City, UT
Sept 13 – Knitting Factory – Boise, ID
Sept 14 – Showbox at the Market – Seattle, WA
Sept 16 – Grand Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Sept 17 – House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA
Sept 18 – SOMA – San Diego, CA
Sept 19 – The Glass House – Pomona, CA
Sept 20 – House of Blues – Las Vegas, NV
Sept 21 – Marquee Theatre – Phoenix, AZ
Sept 23 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX
Sept 24 – White Rabbit – San Antonio, TX
Sept 25 – House of Blues – Houston, TX
Sept 26 – House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
Sept 27 – The Ritz – Tampa, FL
Sept 29 – Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Sept 30 – Amos – Charlotte, NC
Oct 1 – The NorVa – Norfolk, VA
Oct 2 – Sonar – Baltimore, MD
Oct 3 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA
Oct 4 – House of Blues – Boston, MA
Oct 5 – Crazy Donkey – Long Island, NY
Oct 7 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY
Oct 8 – Metropolis – Montreal, QC
Oct 9 – Kool Haus – Toronto, ON
Oct 10 – Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY
Oct 11 – Water Street Music Hall – Rochester, NY
Artist: Set Your Goals
Album: This Will Be The Death Of Us
Label: Epitaph Records
Purchase: Amazon
Release Date: July 21rst, 2009
Overall: 8.0
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 7.5
Production: 8.0
It seems to be that the band Set Your Goals aren’t at all intimidated by other bands in the “scene”. They have taken all the neon-clad, faux-screaming hipsters and blown them all away with just the opening guitar off their latest album This Will Be The Death Of Us. It seems as though they are out to prove that punk-rock is still very much alive in the hearts of listeners.
The album opens up with the title track “This Will Be The Death Of Us” that pounds along with racing guitars and drums, complimented by well-placed gang vocals that make the song an intense affair and a definite sign of what to expect from the rest of the album: Fast, intense and passionate.
Set Your Goals have the formula for making a strong punk record down pat. If it isn’t present in the anti-establishment jam “Look Closer”, that pulsates with furious guitar parts and strong lyrics. Or the anthemic vibe of “The Fallen…”, with great dueling vocals and delivery that makes the lyrics more powerful then paper could provide. Switching gears and next you thing you know the album provides the pop-punk faithfuls that are afraid of head-banging to much with songs like “Equals” and “Summer Jam”.
It’s obvious that Set Your Goals are demanding some attention with This Will Be The Death Of Us. The lyrics are becoming more powerful and anthemic while not being afraid of turning the volume all the way up to 11 (See: “Gaia Bleeds (Make Way For Man”). There are (and should be) a lot of people turning their heads to see the heavy tunes Set Your Goals are churning out on their way to the top. All the bands that are popular with techno beats right now should watch out for these hardcore saviors.
Artist: The Higher
Album: It’s Only Natural
Label: Epitaph Records
Purchase: Amazon
Release Date: June 23rd, 2009
Overall: 8.0
Music: 7.5
Lyrics: 6.5
Production: 8.5
The Higher are a band that have shown consistent efforts ever since there debut Histrionics, which cemented them as a band that could compete with all the other pop-punk bands out there. They proved themselves to be a step above the rest with there infectious melodies and impressive vocal range (courtesy of Seth Trotter). Now they are back with their third album, It’s Only Natural. Can they prove themselves to be the mainstream sensation that they have set themselves up to be with their previous albums? Or will they fall just below the bar of hitting it big this time around?
Those expecting “Histrionics: Part Two“ will be disappointed, because it is obvious that The Higher have moved on from the kind of songs that made them known in favor of tracks that have a slicker sheen to them (production-wise), and a much more pop oriented sound (in their melodies and lyrics alike). While some songs do harken back to the days of old (“Beautiful Coffins”) most other tracks embrace a different sort of sound that leaves the days of Histrionics in the dust whilst creating an evolution of On Fire (“Play With Fire”).
One thing that It’s Only Natural is helping to do is re-define what catchy is, as The Higher are going about many different ways to deliver a catchy hook or chorus throughout the album. While some songs are bursting at the seams with large choruses (“Story Of A Man Obsessed”), some dance around with electronic impulses and rhythms to get down with (“The Black Dress”), and some move at a fast pace and consist of clever catchy sentiments (“Undertaker”).
In the end, It’s Only Natural falls short of being like the old days of The Higher. They have defiantly moved on to becoming more pop than rock, and aren’t afraid to show it. The lyrics are less then what they used to be, and their melodies have morphed into something more electronic and less rock (trading their old style for a more boy-band format of harmonies, see: “Other Options”). It’s a love/hate phenomenon that will make this album divide their fan base so drastically. Change is natural in music, and this album will prove whether or not The Higher’s old fan-base is ready for change as they become an emerging pop band of 2009.
Set Your Goals have set July 21st as the release date for their Epitaph debut, This Will Be The Death Of Us. Check out the album art and track listing for the album below.
This Will Be The Death Of Us Tracklisting
1. this will be the death of us
2. with hoffman lenses we will see the truth
3. look closer
4. summer jam
5. like you to me
6. the fallen…
7. the few that remain
8. equals
9. gaia bleeds (make way for man)
10. flawed methods of persecution & punishment
11. arrival notes
12. our ethos: a legacy to pass on
