New Tune Tuesday (6/9/15)
–Written by Kevin Madert
The Front Bottoms – West Virginia
A surprise single from one of my favorite bands is the stuff Tuesdays are made of. “West Virginia” is The Front Bottoms in quintessence: one part catchy, straightforward instrumentation, one part complex & quirky – yet equally catchy – lyrics, coalesced into a faux-lo-fi package and thrown at you with every ounce of emotive heft lead singer Brian Sella and company can push through their mics and amps. Like much of TFB’s catalog, the wordsmithery on display here is relatable in overarching emotional brushstrokes rather than specifics. You may never have experienced a conversation like the one Sella opens this song with (“Is it raining where you are? / The only thing I could think to ask. / But nothing ever hurt so bad / as the ‘no’ that you said back”) but dammit if those lines don’t hit you in the chest like a two-ton weight. You can download the new tune for free by joining The Front Bottoms Motorcycle Club on the band’s official site. The music video is a perfect visual compliment; you can see it below.
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ICYMI: Actor|Observer – The Longer Now
Don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard about this week’s In Case You Missed It, I actually missed it myself, I hate to say, and either way, that’s why this piece exists in the first place. And fret not, you haven’t missed the boat by long, this album was released only last month, on March 10th. The album in question is The Longer Now, the debut full length from Boston’s Actor|Observer, and to get straight to the point, it is nothing short of spectacular. So spectacular I’m actually a little upset with myself for missing a month and a half of listening time I could have otherwise had with the album had I been paying attention. Now, some of you may be asking from the other side of your computer, “Who is Actor|Observer?” and you could certainly be forgiven for asking such a question. They are one of the best kept secrets in the Boston post-hardcore music scene; arguably one of the best bands of the genre to ever grace Boston, period.
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Review: Dance Gavin Dance – Instant Gratification
There aren’t many albums out there these days that have true staying power. Music has become disposable like most everything else. There are so many good bands out there putting out good music so rapidly that there is little reason to stay loyal to any one album for an extended period of time, lest you might miss the next remarkable flash in the pan. Not to sell the music short, of course, but it’s become so easy to record good music and make it accessible, that so many artists are putting out such highly quality music all the time. It seems like every week a new album of the year contender is released. Team this up with society’s collective ADD, and you get music that gets tossed aside like a day old newspaper.
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News: Que Sera Debut New Music Video on Substream Magazine
–Written by Mike Hogan
The New England post hardcore scene has been the stuff of legend for more than a decade now. There are so many bands that came out of that frozen wasteland that helped define the wildly diverse and complex genre. Bands like The Receiving End of Sirens added the refinement while bands like Therefore I Am gave it a gritty, authentically Boston tone. This scene may not be as instantly recognizable as the emo/pop punk scene that came out of New Jersey and Long Island in the early 2000’s, but it holds just as significant place in the history of modern alternative music.
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Weekend Warm-Up No. 10: Post-Hardcore
–Words and list by Michael Hogan
A while ago I tried to explain post-hardcore to someone who had literally never heard of the genre or any of its bands before. Even though I am a self-proclaimed expert on the subject – someone who played in a post-hardcore band with a couple minor, unsuccessful tours, a pretty good album, and an overly-pretentious view of musicianship under its belt – I actually failed quite miserably. I still have no idea what to say.
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