Content Breakdown
What is out on this #NewMusicFriday?
Take me to the Playlist
It’s an unbelievably stacked #NewMusicFriday. Alongside notable releases from Twenty One Pilots, Lorna Shore, Silverstein, Dance Gavin Dance, and I See Stars, there is new music from Between the Buried and Me, Lastelle, saturdays at your place, and Liquid Mike. You can read my thoughts on these four releases below.
Today also sees new releases from Starset, Nevertel, Not Enough Space, Die Spitz, Spite House, The Rasmus, and much more.
Between the Buried and Me – The Blue Nowhere
When it comes to modern progressive metal, Between the Buried and Me (BtBaM) is one of the names to consider among the best in the genre. Critically acclaimed records, ‘Colors’ and ‘The Great Misdirect’, lead their extensive catalogue. While ‘Colors’‘ thematic sequel in 2021 honed in on expansive songs with plenty of texture. Their eleventh album, ‘The Blue Nowhere,’ is a new beginning in a variety of ways for the North Carolina band. It’s their first record on InsideOut Music, as well as their first as a quartet following the departure of shamed guitarist Dustie Waring.
Conceptually, ‘The Blue Nowhere’ sees vocalist and keyboardist Tommy Rogers take us on an adventure through a psychological hotel. It’s paired with a dizzying, expansive sound palette that is equally rich as it is occasionally weird. After all, this is a prog band. Take the eight-minute-long opener, ‘Things We Tell Ourselves In The Dark,’ as an example. Funky guitars wrap themselves around complex tempos before radiantly providing a soaring chorus. Its cocktail of sounds has flashes of space-y synth clashing with riveting, metallic guitars, and an array of twists and turns in its pacing. It’s a colourful introduction that is soon contrasted by the industrial ‘God Terror’. Here, Rogers’ angsty vocals are complemented by sharp guitars with dark electronica seeping through, creating a hallucination into madness.
Read the full review of ‘The Blue Nowhere’ here
Lastelle – Exist – vol ii
The well of talent in the UK’s underground scene runs deep, with bands fighting for attention. Amongst them is Oxfordshire’s Lastelle. 12 months ago, they received plenty of praise for their ‘Exist vol i’ EP. Honing in on an emotional post-hardcore space that they share with the likes of Holding Absence and Casey, it allowed the emerging quintet to explore themes of mental health, lost love, and personal struggles. ‘vol ii’ promises to bring Lastelle‘s ‘Exist’ to a conclusion with five new songs.
While its predecessor set the benchmark relatively high, its sequel exceeds it. The title track opens with gorgeous, atmospheric guitars that ring out as drummer Mike Hayden provides soulful, clean vocals. Alongside lead vocalist Adam Rigozzi, they establish an emotional tone riddled with hurt and regret. The gradual build involves Hayden’s tribal drums giving way to crescendoing guitars from Rich Lester and Jonjo Williams. Alongside bassist Freddie Whatmore, it’s a powerful introduction.
Read the full review of ‘vol ii’ here
saturdays at your place – These Things Happen
Since emerging from their hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, saturdays at your place (sayp) have firmly positioned themselves as “ones to watch” in the midwestern emo scene. 2023 EP, ‘always cloudy’ built on what 2021’s debut full-length, ‘Something Worth Celebrating’ founded. In turn, it elevated their reputation due to the trio’s ability to blend midwestern emo tropes with melodic sensibilities. However, lyrically, it saw them seek out help with growing up. As they return with their second album, ‘These Things Happen,’ Esden Stafne (vocals/bass), Gabe Wood (vocals/drums), and Mitch Gulish (guitar) look to take ownership of their adulthood.
From the outset, they look to set a comfortable tone with the pairing of ‘Welcome’ and ‘cross my heart’. Light pianos segue into a rampant, bouncy blast of emo pop-punk. Stafne’s words of longing and regret exemplify what sayp are all about. Themes of mental health struggles, isolation, loss, and internal conflict are threaded throughout these ten tracks.
‘waste away’ maintains this tone through Stafne’s exhausted mindset, as he reaches a breaking point amidst dealing with depression. Alongside Gabe Wood, they provide a solid rhythm section while Gulish’s twiddly guitars tinker away in the verses. This emotional heaviness continues throughout the album, complementing their reliable emo sound.
Read the full review of These Things Happen’ here
Liquid Mike – Hell Is An Airport
Ever since forming Liquid Mike five years ago, Mike Maple has certainly kept himself busy. ‘Hell Is An Airport’ is the sixth full-length under this moniker, yet the Michigan native isn’t alone. Synth player and vocalist Monica Nelson, drummer Cody Maracek and bassist Zack Alworden have been frequent collaborators. Alworden’s Charmer bandmate, guitarist Dave Daignault, joined the band two years ago. Despite surrounding himself with trustworthy cohorts, ‘Hell Is An Airport’ sees Maple maintain a personal touch to its 14 songs.
At its thematic core is the self-depricating Maple. Whether that’s the monotony of everyday life on ‘AT&T,’ or how his body hates him on ‘Claws,’ Maple utilises humour to get through the mundanity and bleak self-awareness. Rather than wallow in his own failures, he’s able to laugh at his own failures. For example, ‘Groucho Marks’ shows he’s coping, taping together broken items, while his bandmates charge with a punchy rhythm section and a wall of distortion. On ‘Lit From the Wrong End,’ he uses a slapstick metaphor of sledging downhill and meeting an unexpected jump.
Read the full review of ‘Hell Is An Airport’ here
What is out on #NewMusicFriday?
Twenty One Pilots – Breach
Lorna Shore – I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me
Between the Buried and Me – The Blue Nowhere
Silverstein – Pink Moon
Neck Deep – Neck Deep (Dumbfuck Edition)
Starset – SILOS
Placebo – This Search For Meaning (documentary)
I See Stars – The Wheel
Dance Gavin Dance – Pantheon
Ho99o9 – Tomorrow We Escape
Lastelle – Exist – vol ii
saturdays at your place – These Things Happen
Liquid Mike – Hell Is An Airport
Nevertel – Start Again
Not Enough Space – Weaponize Your Rage
Maruja – Pain To Power
Die Spitz – Something to Consume
Spite House – Desertion
By A Thread – Mirrored Life
The Rasmus – Weirdo
Ruston Kelly – Pale, Through the Window
Intercourse – How I Fell In Love With The Void
Daughtry – Shock To The System (Part Two)
Acceptance – Phantoms / Twenty
Oxymorrons – Create. Destroy. Rebuild. Repeat.
Frozemode – DEMODE 3
RinRin – The Nut House
BARRENS – Corpse Lights
Problem Patterns – Boring Songs For Boring People
Miss Fortune – Unapologetic
Jo Quail – Notan
Demon Hunter – There Was A Light Here
Will Paquin – Hahaha
Foxcult – Watercolors: The Emerald Grove
Hostage – The Search
Kalamity Kills – Kalamity Kills
Electromancy – Visions of Utopia
Slomatics – Atomicult
Colorblind – Who Sold You This Truth
Club Brat – Songs
Stacy! – Classroom Blitz
The Violent – 003.TV: Culmination
Horace Pinker – Now and the Future
Algernon Cadwallader – Trying Not to Have a Though
Restraining Order – Future Fortune
Crippling Alcoholism – Camgirl
Jim E Brown – I Urinated on a Butterfly
If you think I’ve missed something or have a new album/EP/song to tell us about, tell us about it here.
If you’re looking for the latest tracks focusing on rock, punk, hardcore, metal, emo, and everything in between, then check out our ‘Newish Music’ playlist on Spotify or Apple Music.
