New Music Report – February 24, 2023
Man, what a week. We’ve got some huge new singles from August Burns Red featuring Spencer from Underoath, new music from Bodysnatcher and Ov Sulfur and then on the other end of the spectrum, a new album from Lucero and Manchester Orchestra. So a little something for everybody with a really diverse week.
Now we’re getting into some of the full lengths I’ve really been looking forward to. I know Lucero is a bit of a departure from the usual heavy music that I tend to listen to, but these alt-country legends have been on heavy rotation for me for over a decade now. And to be honest, their past few albums haven’t really done it for me, it lost a little bit of the edge they had before on That Much Further West and other older albums like that, but this new one seems like a step in the right direction, it’s still a bit cleaner, but it’s retained a bit of the edge that I always loved from the band.
And the biggest surprise of the week, was the new album from To the Grave. I honestly wasn’t really tracking this album at all until it came out, but god damn, what an album. It’s no secret that I’ve been really big on deathcore lately, but this is another reason why I’m so excited about the future of the genre, you’ve got incredible fresh bands like this coming out from all over the world. It’s not all just the big names like Lorna Shore and Brand of Sacrifice, it’s the bands like this that are really making the genre so exciting.
New Music Report – February 17, 2023
This week has been kind of weird, there really haven’t been a ton of notable full-length releases, SeeYouNextTuesday put out a new album, but as far as I’ve been tracking that’s been about it. That said, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been a packed week for new music in general. Again, we’re in that point in the year where new releases are still rolling in, we start seeing more big name full-length releases into the spring time through March, April, and May, but we roll into that with singles that come out in January and February.
Because of that, you get new singles from big names like Sleep Token, Story of the Year, Periphery, Code Orange, Chelsea Grin, Acacia Strain, etc. So you know, we’re not exactly wanting for new music right now. And for what it’s worth, I’m really one of the few people left that puts more of a focus on the full-length album than the singles and their place within Spotify playlists. But regardless of what your preference is, the huge names in the new release list this week are a great sign of things to come.
New Music Report – February 10, 2023
What a week for good music. Everything from Paramore coming back and putting out their first album in years to absolutely huge new singles from some of the best heavy bands in the game. To start things off, the new singles from Veil of Maya and Brand of Sacrifice are exactly as good as you would expect from such legendary bands, and with new albums likely on the horizon from both of them, there’s certainly a lot to get excited about. We also had some stellar singles from lesser known bands like Earth Groans, a personal favorite of mind who have been building steam over the past few years, and bands like Drain, Scowl, and some newly emerging bands like EYES. All of these were phenomenal, definitely check out the playlist to catch all of these.
And now we’re finally getting to some good new full length releases for the year. First and foremost, the new album from Paramore is full of nothing but hits, it’s groovy from start to finish. Hayley Williams has just been getting more and more creative with her vocal delivery, and I still maintain that Zac Farro is one of the most underrated drummers out there in terms of straight up groove. And on the other side of the spectrum, deathcore heavyweights Distant just put out another incredible album continuing this absolutely untouchable streak that deathcore as a genre has been on for about 3 years now. We also got solid new music from Pierce the Veil and In Flames, and when those are the releases that are getting the least attention, you know it’s been a big one. This is definitely a sign of great things to come in 2023.
New Music Report – February 3, 2023
Yet another week of the singles being more impactful than the albums themselves. There have been a few good albums this year, don’t get me wrong, but when you have weeks like this where both Currents and Invent Animate – two of the absolute best bands in the new age of metalcore – are putting out new music and hyping up their upcoming album releases, it’s hard for much of anything to beat that. If these singles are any indicator, there’s a very good chance these are going to be two of the best albums to come out this year. I know that sounds incredibly hyperbolic to be saying this in early February but given the strength of the singles we have and these bands back catalogs, it’s absolutely not a far-fetched statement by any means. I’ll be looking forward to these two releases quite a bit, and until they come out, I’ll have these singles on repeat. Everything else this week is just gravy.
That said, it’s not like everything else this week was pointless, Sanguisugabogg put out an absolute ripper of an album, in fact, one of the best death metal albums I’ve heard in quite some time, I can’t recommend that enough. But perhaps an even bigger deal, Thrice went back and re-recorded Artist in the Ambulance and released it as a surprise on Thursday. Now, it’s rare that a rerelease of an album is going to be met with much fanfare, but this is a complete re-recording of one of the absolute most iconic post hardcore albums of all time, so it deserves every ounce of hype that it gets. I just can’t believe that album is already 20 years old.
New Music Report – January 26, 2023
Kind of a diverse set of releases we’ve had this week, it’s been nice to see. There are a few very high profile releases like new singles from Fall Out Boy and August Burns Red, and some heavy hitters from Angelmaker, Unearth, See You Next Tuesday, and so on, which have all been fantastic. I’m actually very much looking forward to the new August Burns Red release. Generally speaking, they’ve been as reliable as a wood burning stove, putting out consistently solid but not exactly evolutionary metalcore for 20 years now. It’s been a while since their peak, not that their quality has fallen off, but that their sound hasn’t really progressed. But these new singles are getting me pretty excited again, so hopefully that album ends up being as good as I suspect it’ll be.
The full length releases this week have been pretty chill, to be honest. Hammock and Phaeleh are the big ones, the former being straight up ambient, and the latter being deep, chill IDM. I’ve been a big fan of both these releases so far. These are pretty big departures from the typical music that I cover, and it’s definitely something you have to be in the mood for, especially Hammock, but they’re incredibly thoughtful, well done, and relaxing albums. So all said, pretty nice diversity this week, a little something for every mood.