\u00a0<\/strong>have killed plenty of time listening to “van jams”. As we count down the weeks until they arrive in the UK, vocalist and guitarist Dylan Slocum has picked out the band’s favourite tour tracks.<\/p>\nCounting Crows \u2013 Angels of the Silences<\/h2>\n
I\u2019ve been on a huge Counting Crows kick lately. I don\u2019t think they have a bad album. And our band doesn\u2019t agree on a lot of bands to listen to in the van, but they\u2019re one of them. This is basically a pop-punk song and it\u2019s a great one to crank on the highway as you\u2019re approaching a city to get hyped.<\/p>\n
Culture Abuse \u2013 Dip<\/h2>\n
‘Bay Dream’<\/i> is my album of the year so far. I could\u2019ve picked any song from it for this. It\u2019s so refreshingly positive, something that\u2019s lacking in our van from time to time.<\/p>\nBruce Springsteen \u2013 Darkness on the Edge of Town<\/h2>\n
This album just turned 40, so I\u2019ve revisited a ton, and I think it has usurped ‘Born to Run’<\/em> as my favourite Springsteen album. This song is sparse and simple, but it hits so hard. It\u2019s not exactly a van jam, but something I\u2019m studying as we start writing our next album.<\/p>\nMXPX \u2013 Moments Like This<\/h2>\n
We had the good fortune of doing Mike Herrera\u2019s podcast like 2 days after this new album (‘MXPX’<\/em>) came out, and it was impossibly hard to not gush to him that he\u2019s one of the reasons I play music and that these new songs made me feel like I was 13 again. Instead, I played it super cool and said something along the lines of, your album is really good. So eloquent. I\u2019m an idiot.<\/p>\nPhoebe Bridgers \u2013 Funeral<\/h2>\n
There\u2019s something about this song that gets to everyone in the van. I think it\u2019s just incredibly honest \u2013 the best kind of taken from a journal lyrics. Also, the chorus sounds like something we would do (we just wouldn\u2019t do it as well), and there\u2019s something pleasing about that.<\/p>\n
Senses Fail \u2013 Is It Gonna Be the Year?<\/h2>\n
This record (‘If There Is Light, It Will Find You’<\/em>) floored me when I heard it earlier this year. When I first put it on, the band groaned. I think it\u2019s a kneejerk reaction to a lot of bands we loved from this era. But by the time this track hit, I think just about everyone was sold. It\u2019s such a crushing look at life on the road, and I\u2019m so glad Senses Fail put this album out.<\/p>\nCamp Cope \u2013 Animal & Real<\/h2>\n
Another band that we all agree is the best. I hadn\u2019t listened to the back half of this album as much, so I threw it on a lot and this song became my new favourite off the album (besides ‘The Opener’<\/em> because that might be a perfect song).<\/p>\nThe Dirty Nil \u2013 Pain of Infinity<\/h2>\n
I got to see them twice in LA right before we left for our last tour, and they are the best live band playing right now. They own every room. They\u2019ve been playing this one live for a minute, so I was pumped that I finally had a recorded version to listen to. I think their new album (‘Master Volume’<\/em>) is going to destroy some people.<\/p>\nThird Eye Blind \u2013 Motorcycle Drive By<\/h2>\n
We\u2019ll be skipping through songs and talking, then this will come on, and everyone will shut up and sing along. It\u2019s just that good. Especially the big build \u2013 when it kicks in we air drum the shit out of our seats and steering wheel.<\/p>\n
Mansions \u2013 Brain Fog<\/h2>\n
Mansions are an underrated band. Kyle (McAulay – Guitar) and I listened to them a ton because they record most of their stuff out of their apartment, which we\u2019re discussing doing for our next album. I wish they would tour again.<\/p>\n
Hellogoodbye \u2013 S\u2019only Natural<\/h2>\n
Half of our band secretly wants to start a dance project, so this had been a welcome addition to our playlists. It\u2019s such a banger.<\/p>\n
Mercy Music \u2013 Song For<\/h2>\n
We just toured with Mercy, and in addition to being the nicest people on Earth, they write incredible songs. This is the highlight of their new album for me \u2013 it\u2019s catchy, depressing, and somehow uplifting all at once.<\/p>\n
Bobby Barnett \u2013 No Appetite<\/h2>\n
After we released ‘Schmaltz’,<\/em> I saw a lot of people mentioning that we reminded them of Captain, We\u2019re Sinking, which I found funny because I had never listened to them (it\u2019s especially funny if you know our band & who Bobby\u2019s brother is). But I decided I should listen, and thought that CWS was incredible, and then found Bobby\u2019s solo stuff, which is equally great. He\u2019s just an amazing songwriter, and this new EP reminds me a lot of Counting Crows.<\/p>\nRestorations \u2013 The Red Door<\/h2>\n
I didn\u2019t realize how much I missed Restorations until they put this song out. They\u2019re flexing on everyone here. It\u2019s such lean, powerful songwriting.<\/p>\n
Sugarcult \u2013 Memory<\/h2>\n
This gets played at least once per tour with the obligatory, “dude Sugarcult was rad”<\/em>. We\u2019ve unintentionally mapped out all the harmonies in the chorus, and it\u2019s just a delightful time whenever it comes on. Also, Sugarcult was rad.<\/p>\n
![\"Spanish](\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/SLS_playlist-1024x505.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n