I like music.

Six studio albums. One hell of an achievement in a genre a lot of people considered dead and/or dying. But like metalcore, Counterparts has no indication of slowing down. Nothing Left To Love is the next chapter in singer Brendan Murphy's depression-clad, high octane, Canadian born, metal band. Much like Dance Gavin Dance, this band has had a revolving door of artists; except with Counterparts, the singer has been the consistent one. Unless, of course, you count Will Putney, who is a massive reason why these guys have been able to stay not only relevant, but at the epicenter of their genre. It's no secret Counterparts lyrics are miserable, it's probably one of their biggest draws. The fact that Murphy has been able to keep producing high quality, sorrowful lyrics album after album is not something that should go unnoticed. The album, is honestly, bad-freaking-ass. It's not groundbreaking or breaking any barriers between genre's but it is damn consistent, produc

No one can ever take away the legacy Four Year Strong has in their wake. Rise or Die Trying and Enemy of the world broke the Pop Punk mould. Bands across the planet emulated their heavy/catchy archetype. There's not generally much longevity in the scene, maybe 5-8 years and a couple albums. Well, Four Year Strong broke that mould too. They've been killing it for double that. ROD came out in 07, and probably blew out a speaker in every car I've owned since then. The work they've done with Will Putney on their sixth full length is no different. Absolutely full of catchy breakdowns, brutal rhythmic honesty, and a direct connection to my nineteen year old self through Pop Punk dipped in Hardcore. When Brain Pain starts, it starts with one of the best intro tracks since There, There by the wonder years; or Pawner by Polar Bear Club. This intro though feels a lot like they should be happy about where they are, but for some reason they don't. It feels like they're r

Belmont. BELMONT! The first time I heard Belmont in 2016, I was absolutely stoked. It sounded like my dreams of Pop Punk were coming to fruition. Heavy, catchy and sad. Couldn't ask for more. Then they delivered two absolute bangers for singles, Step Aside and Water Weight. Then they put out their self titled full length and if I still had a walk-man, I'd have burnt that CD out by now. Now comes September 2019. One of the best unknown bands, signs to Pure Noise Records. This could either be good or bad for a band like Belmont. They could have "sold out" (as much as you can on an indie label) and shifted their sound up and go the "over produced" pop punk route. But instead, these absolute Pop Punk geniuses put out "By My Side" and I got a chance to catch it live, in Cologne, Germany. Holy Shit did they not disappoint. But let me get to Reflections. Somewhere along the line Belmont decided Hardcore, Math Rock, and Pop Punk wasn't enough. The

This modern wave of Emo is flat out freaking awesome. I got to see Hot Mulligan in Texas and Philadelphia, and let me tell you their live show is exactly what you hope. They let it all out on stage. Singer Nathan Sanville is what you want from an Emo front man. Pure passion. Musically, they're always on point. Drummer Brandon Blakeley doesn't miss a beat. One thing that I always look out for is an artists gear, and both guitarists: Chris Freeman and Ryan Malisci both rock Reverend Guitars, so does bassist Garrett Willig. I don't attribute their skill at all to their instruments, but it's always awesome when a band like this takes their sound a little more seriously. It's easy to let Emo sound garage-y and unproduced, it's part of the aesthetic. These guys however, have cultivated a honed purity in their live show and they've brought it to their latest record "You'll Be Fine." Their 2018 full length debut, Pilot, turned plenty of heads. The

Spanish Love Songs; they have a reputation of emotional punk rock.  Brave Faces Everyone kicks that reputation into high gear.  The album opens with a low tone, a lone guitar and, singer Dylan Slocum wearing his heart of his sleeve.  Slocum's shaking vocals bring the entire ensamble together, making Brave Faces Everyone pretty damn hard to turn off.  Routine Pain is the perfect archetype of what the first song on an album should be.  It is the overture of the theme of the whole album.  An emotional tour of Slocum's obviously tormented psyche.  Let's see how much lower he can go.  On the surface, you might hear similarities to The Menzingers or The Flatliners.  It's obviously their sonic niche.  But as Routine Pain ends, and your ears get hit with that electronic outro and the drums (of drummer Ruben Duarte) carry you into the second track those similarities start to dwindle. 'It won't be this bleak forever," is not the feeling you get through-out their t

48 year old Craig Finn's newest release "I Need a New War," is his 4th solo album.  And from a quick count on wikipedia, his 24th release since 93.  Pretty damn awesome (I'm not going to lie, seeing an artist like this still putting out albums means the dream isn't dead.)  From the jump, you get immediate Springsteen vibes; specifically Nebraska.  His shaky vocals pull you through the stories he's created with his medium; song.  Meeting people, trying to figure out where he belongs in the busy world around him. Blankets opens the album with meeting a girl.  Where any good album starts!  They spend a few summers together but he realizes he doesn't love her.  His line about there being one too many walls in the city puts you in the middle of a row of skyscrapers and just feeling trapped and feeling too small next to a thunderous canyon.  She's left and he hires a detective to find her.  They follow her to the twin cities and you're becoming more a