Punk rock band Still Insane gave audiences another preview of its new EP this week.
The band released the EP’s secondsingle/title track Jan. 10. Its premiere came less than a month after the band debuted the EP’s lead single, ‘Stay Home‘ Dec. 2.
The musical arrangement featured in ‘Black Sheep’ is a presentation that audiences will find interesting. That is because it is not just a pure punk rock opus. Influence from the likes of Pennywise is evident at some points. At others, a harder influence from the likes of Bad Religion is audible alongside something of a thrash metal leaning. At first thought, such a blend of styles and sounds should not work, but it does work in this case.
No information was provided about the song’s lyrical theme in the press release announcing the song’s debut. From what can be deciphered without lyrics to reference or an explanation of the lyrics, it can be inferred that the song is a familiar social commentary that focuses on self identity. This is just this critic’s interpretation and should not be taken as the only take on the lyrical theme.
The track listing for Black Sheep is noted below.
TrackList
1- Sleeping On The Floor
2- Black Sheep
3- No More Targets
4- Stay Home
5- Thank You
More information on Still Insane’s new single and album is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
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The announcement was made Friday through a news release. The document states the album is scheduled for re-issue Jan. 4 through Thousand Islands Records. Approximately 1,000 copies of the album will be available, with 500 copies on pink marble pressing and another 500 on baby blue marble.
Belvedere released its latest album, The Sixth Sense in May through Thousand Islands Records/Lockjaw Records. The album is available to stream and download here.
More information on Belvedere’s forthcoming vinyl re-issue of The Revenge of the Fifth is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
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Courtesy: Thousand Islands Records/Lockjaw Records
Punk rock band Our Darkest Days released its new album, Snakes & Ladders today through Thousand Islands Records and Lockjaw Records.
The record’s release comes a day after the band debuted its new single, ‘Against All Odds’ and its video. The song’s musical arrangement, with its edge, its harmonies, and its solid time keeping and rich bass line makes it everything that punk purists will appreciate.
No information was provided about the song’s lyrical theme in the press release announcing the album’s release and the premiere of the new single and video. Listening through the song, it seems to hint at messages of friendship and unity, and the power of each. That is just this critic’s interpretation.
The video for ‘Against All Odds’ features the band performing its new single in a variety of settings, including a studio setting, an old school arcade and a city’s back street area. The video’s editing does well to capture the song’s energy, ensuring audiences’ engagement and entertainment even more.
More information on Our Darkest Days’ new album, single, and video is available along with all of the band’s latest news at https://www.facebook.com/ourdarkestdays.
Courtesy: Thousand Islands Records/Lockjaw Records
Independent metal band Wolfrick debuted its new single and video this week.
The band premiered its new single, ‘Bashem‘ and its companion video Tuesday. The song is the lead single from the band’s forthcoming album, Clones, which is scheduled for release Feb. 25 through Thousand Islands Records (North/South America) and Lockjaw Records (UK/EU).
The video features the band performing its new single in a forest setting as a woman keeps finding a disgusting ooze everywhere she goes, as well as insects that audiences are left to assume created the ooze. The whole thing culminates in the woman joining in the band as the collective destroys a horde of bugs, which spatter the ooze all over them.
The song’s musical arrangement is a heavy, intense work that will appeal to fans of the screamo realm. No information was provided about the song’s lyrical theme in the press release announcing the video’s premiere. The lyrics presented with the video leave plenty of room for interpretation. One interpretation is that it is a reference to a person not being who that person is, and the declaration that said person’s true colors and nature will be revealed.
In other news, the band has also announced a brief slate of new live dates in support of Clones. The band’s tour schedule is noted below.
Upcoming shows:
WED, NOV 17 Red Deer, AB @ The Vat Pub
THU NOV 18 Banff, AB @ the Rose & Crown
FRI, NOV 19 Calgary, AB @ Broken City
SAT NOV 20 High River, AB @ High River Brewing Company
SUN, NOV 21 Edmonton, AB @ The Buckingham
More information on Wolfrik’s new single, video, album and tour is available along with all of the band’s latest news at https://www.facebook.com/wolfrikedmonton.
Independent punk rock band The Corps debuts its latest single and video this week.
The band premiered its new single, ‘Hazardous‘ and its companion video Tuesday. The intense, tow minute, 42 second song is everything that punk purists will appreciate, from the gritty vocals to the frenetic work on the guitar, drums, and bass, and even the layered vocal effect in the choruses. The whole lends itself to comparison to works from the likes of NOFX, Propagandi, and Lagwagon.
According to a statement from the band, the song’s lyrical theme is a social commentary of sorts that is presented in a semi-allegorical fashion.
“This song is about a woman who has spent her entire life ignoring personal responsibilities and the capacity for empathy, which in turn forces her to create a fictional reality and narrative for the life around her,” the statement reads. “A self made victim, she is very dangerous.”
The song’s video was shot, directed, and edited by City Zero Films. It features the band going around a city, “fixing” others’ problems. It is its own story that is meant to artistically help translate the noted message in the song’s lyrical theme.
More information on The Corps’ new single and video is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
Punk rock band United Defiance debuted the video for its latest single this week.
The band premiered the video for its single, ‘Sing With Me‘ Friday. The premiere comes less than a month after the band premiered the song by itself.
The song is featured in the band’s forthcoming album, Change the Frequency, which is scheduled for release Oct. 1 through Thousand Islands Records.
The video features the band performing its new single on a city street. It intersperses that with footage of the band fighting a turf war with a group of sock puppets. While the visualization is silly, the band explained in a prepared statement that it is meant to help translate the positive message presented in the song’s lyrical theme.
“The concept for the ‘Sing With Me’ video was to show two rival groups, like the Sharks and the Jets from West Side Story, playing pranks on each other in the tradition of films like Animal House,” the statement reads. “One of those groups just happens to be sock puppets. Because the song is about unity, the video shows that at the end of the day, you can always make the choice to buy the other guy a drink and have a blast in spite of differences. And sock puppets are funny as hell.”
The musical arrangement featured in ‘Sing With Me’ is a catchy, infectious, guitar-driven composition. Its choruses, with their collective vocals, and the gritty but still catchy verses lend the arrangement overall to works from the likes of NOFX, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and to a slightly lesser extent, Dropkick Murphys.
Change the Frequency will feature guest appearances from well-known names in the punk community, such as Jason Devore (Authority Zero) and Dave Pederson (Downway) among others.
More information on United Defiance’s new single and album is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
Punk rock band United Defiance will release its new album this fall.
The band is scheduled to release its new album, Change the Frequency Oct. 1 through Thousand Islands Records. A vinyl release for the album is scheduled to take place in 2022. In anticipation of the album’s release, the band premiered the album’s lead single, ‘Sing With Me‘ Monday.
The musical arrangement featured in ‘Sing With Me’ is a catchy, infectious, guitar-driven composition. Its choruses, with their collective vocals, and the gritty but still catchy verses lend the arrangement overall to works from the likes of NOFX, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and to a slightly lesser extent, Dropkick Murphys.
No information was provided about the song’s lyrical theme in the press release announcing the single’s debut. However, in listening to the song, the theme comes across as a message celebrating unity, friendship and just coming together in general.
Change the Frequency will feature guest appearances from well-known names in the punk community, such as Jason Devore (Authority Zero) and Dave Pederson (Downway) among others.
More information on United Defiance’s new single and album is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
The band premiered its new single, ‘Please Vacate The Planet’ and its video Monday. The song is the sixth single from the band’s latest album, Our Hell is Right Here. Its premiere follows that of the album’s other singles, ‘Live and Let Live,‘ ‘Learn,‘ ‘Josephine,’ ‘Our Hell is Right Here‘ and ‘Epitaph.’ All of the band’s singles are available to stream and download here along with the rest of the album.
The musical arrangement featured in ‘Please Vacate The Planet’ is a solid punk style composition. The vocals and instrumentation in whole are shard and precise throughout the song.
According to a prepared statement from the band, the song’s lyrical theme presents a message of social consciousness. That consciousness is in regards to humans’ impact on the planet.
“‘Please Vacate The Planet’ is about the devastating impact humans have on Earth,” the statement reads. “We are like leeches sucking the life from the planet. We build and destroy, consume and discard so rapidly that it’s impossible for the rest of Earth’s life to remain intact. The population is growing so fast that sometimes it feels like the best thing to do is just get rid of us altogether…”
The video for ‘Please Vacate The Planet’ is a relatively simple presentation. Presented in black and white, it features the band in a studio setting, performing its new single. A variety of camera angles and effects is used to enhance the presentation and the tension in the song’s lyrical theme and the energy in its musical arrangement.
More information on Drones’ new album is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
Courtesy: Mal De Ojo Records/Lockjaw Records/Thousand Islands Records
Independent hard rock band La Armada premiered its new single and its companion video this week.
The band debuted its new single, ‘All We Know‘ and its companion video Thursday. The single is featured in the band’s forthcoming album, Anti-Colonial Vol. 2, which is scheduled for release later this year. The band will release its new record through its own label, Mal De Ojo Records in the United States, Thousand Islands Records in Canada, and Lockjaw Records in the United Kingdom and Europe. An exact release date for the album is under consideration.
The musical arrangement featured in ‘All We Know’ is a heavy composition. It presents punk elements alongside a touch of Rage Against the Machine influence for a unique overall sound and stylistic approach.
The lyrical theme featured alongside the song’s heavy musical arrangement is heavy in its own right, according to a prepared statement released by the band.
“’All We Know’ is a groove-filled anthem written from within the eye of a hurricane,’ the statement reads. “Our singer came up with the lyrics after having lived through Hurricanes Irma and Maria, devastating earthquakes, and the pandemic, all from his native town in Yauco, Puerto Rico. It’s an angsty first hand account of the indifference and corruption that surrounded the government response to these disasters and a reminder that at the end of the day, this is how it’s always been, and that one way or another the people will always get by.”
More information on ‘All We Know’ is available along with all of La Armada’s latest news at:
Courtesy: Thousand Islands Records/Lockjaw Records
Independent punk rock band Belvedere is scheduled to release its latest album Friday. Hindsight is the Sixth Sense, the band’s third album, is scheduled for release through Thousand Island Records and Lockjaw Records. The 13-song record will appeal equally to the band’s established audience base and to punk purists in general. That is proven in part through the album’s musical arrangements. They will be discussed shortly. The lyrical themes presented throughout the album add their own appeal. They will be discussed a little later. The album’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements and will also be discussed later. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the 34-minute album. All things considered, they make the album a punk purist’s dream come true.
Belvedere’s forthcoming album, Hindsight is the Sixth Sense is a work that fits well into any punk purist’s music library. That is proven in part through its featured musical arrangements. The arrangements featured in this record are pure punk rock for the most part. As a matter of fact, when listeners compare the arrangements featured in this album to the works in the band’s existing catalog, the up-tempo, guitar-driven works are everything that audiences have come to expect from the band. The comparisons to works from the likes of Pennywise, Chaser, and Radio Thieves are just as clear here as in the band’s existing albums for that matter. While the arrangements do tend to stay true to a familiar sound and stylistic approach in this album, there is at least one song that breaks that mold. It comes in the form of ‘Retina.’ This song actually opens with something of a thrash style approach that plays out in the song’s choruses. That sound and stylistic approach, against the band’s more familiar pure punk sound makes this one of the album’s most interesting musical points. There are other points throughout the album that present some metal influence, but nowhere near as evident in this case. All things considered, the general familiarity of the album’s musical content gives the noted audiences enough to appreciate.
The musical arrangements that make up the body of Belvedere’s new album are in themselves reason enough for the noted audiences to take in this record. They are just a part of what will make the album appealing to the band’s target audiences. The album’s lyrical themes are just as much pure punk as its musical arrangements. Case in point is the lyrical theme featured in ‘Retina.’ This song’s lyrical theme takes on the powers that be so to speak. This is made clear as front man Steve Rawles sings, “We’re placing all our faith in institutions/(When every fuckin’ time they let us down)/Another protest can’t relieve this evolution/What cost, it’s always in your thoughts/You felt the same, the same/A masterful thought takeover/It’s criminal and moreover/Never, regarded, insane.” The statement here is clear and follows very much in similar fashion as the nearly three-minute song progresses. It is that defiant, anti-establishment anthem for which punk rock has come to be known over the genre’s history.
‘Good Grief Retreat,’ one of the album’s singles is another example of how the album’s familiar lyrical themes will appeal to Belvedere’s key audiences. As Rawles pointed out in a recent interview, “This song speaks of the average worker and the system that benefits off their labour. While the rich can hide behind laws, regulations and a corporate veil that doesn’t hold them accountable for their actions, the worker never gets ahead and has no chance of closing the wage and lifestyle gap. The Retreat in the title refers to the general populace demanding better conditions.” Again, this is a topic that is quite familiar to punk bands across the board. Keeping that in mind, it will engage and entertain listeners just as much as the lyrical theme featured in ‘Retina.’ ‘Peace in Our Time’ is one more example of the importance of the album’s lyrical themes. It is another familiar commentary about society and everything going on. From tackling the powers that be, to people’s innate desire to point the finger, this song goes after both. The statements are illustrated in the song’s statement, “Heedless of the consequence to reap what you have sown/Lay the blame on someone else, to misdirect your own/It’s hard to gauge the loss of innocence/You set the bar, you cast the die/Dead mothers, fathers, sons and daughters/But never tell us why/They question where’s the retribution.” The overall statement is expanded in another verse, which states, Should I take a dive/Or should i go a few more rounds?/I’m crying on the sidelines as the final buzzer sounds/All the same old butchers/With a different badge in hand/And all that we demand is/Freedom, but not without a price.” This social commentary is, again, familiar territory for the band and for punk and its fans. Keeping that in mind, it is one more way in which the album’s lyrical content ensures listeners engaged and entertained in this record. When it is considered along with the other themes noted here and the rest of the album’s presented lyrical themes, the whole leaves no doubt as to the importance of the album’s lyrical content. That content and the album’s musical arrangements are just part of what audiences will find appealing about the record. Its sequencing rounds out its most important elements.
The sequencing of Hindsight is the Sixth Sense is important to note because it ensures the album’s energy remains high from beginning to end. There are some subtle variances in terms of the overall stylistic approach to the songs. That keeps things just interesting enough in that avenue. The energy though, remains stable from the record’s opening to its finale. Keeping that in mind, the album’s sequencing puts the finishing touch to its presentation. When it is considered along with the album’s overall content, the whole makes this record a presentation that listeners will appreciate in their initial listen and in hindsight.
Belvedere’s forthcoming album Hindsight is the Sixth Sense is a presentation that will appeal equally to the band’s established audience base and to punk purists. That is due in part to the album’s musical arrangements. The arrangements featured in this record are everything that audiences have come to expect from the band. They are also works that prove familiar to any punk fan what with their up-tempo approaches, and distinct vocal approaches. The lyrical themes featured throughout the album are just as familiar to all of the noted audiences as the album’s musical arrangements. To that end, that increased familiarity will appeal even more to the noted audiences. The sequencing used throughout the album does its own part to keep audiences listening. It keeps the album’s energy high throughout even with the subtle changes in the arrangements’ stylistic approaches. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the album. All things considered, they make the album a work that holds its own in this year’s field of new punk records. Hindsight is the Sixth Sense is scheduled for release Friday through Thousand Islands Records and Lockjaw Records.
More information on Belvedere’s new single and album is available along with all of the band’s latest news at:
To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.Advertisements
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