Genres
Fitness Club Fiasco’s Disjointed History
Indie synth-pop outfit, Fitness Club Fiasco, have had a bit of a disjointed history. The band formed in Bristol, England, with Mike Harloff (vocals, guitar, synths) teaming up with Jess Underdown (vocals). They released two tracks through Something in Construction Records titled Forest City and Dialogue Dreamer, and both received coverage from NME and regular spins on BBC radio.
To continue on their journey, the expats have now returned to Canada and added new members Matt Henderson of Old English, local singer-songwriter Jess Janz, and drummer Cam Guthrie. With the new setting and additional members the band has now acquired a new sound. Holding onto their dancey rhythms, infectious pop melodies, clever, thoughtful lyrics, and a heavy helping of synths they have now grown and evolved into something more mature, more emotional, and more organic.
No song showcases this progression and rebirth better than their new single Goldmine. Self described as a brooding, slow-burning synth-pop number that builds deliberately, note-by-note, from its haunting, minimalist opening to its explosive end. Goldmine, the first single off of their upcoming full length, is available to stream below and can be downloaded for free on their Bandcamp.
Watch: mewithoutYou – “All Circles”
mewithoutYou have released a music video for their song All Circles off of their most recent album Ten Stories. The video uses stop motion clay figurines to portray a science fiction sonic journey. The track also features Hayley Williams of Paramore accompanying Aaron Weiss’ vocals. You can download an HD copy of the video by donating to the now independent band here through Paypal.
The director of the video, Michael P. Heneghan stated, “The egg breaks, the atom shakes, the earth quakes, the DNA snakes, the man takes. Life and love, sex and death, the first murder and then the train goes off the tracks. This universe will be the undoing of itself. Look for clues – do not trust the blue mouth man, he is not what he seems. Elephant knows the way. Our hearts must be broken for our souls to escape. Where will it end? Where did it begin? All circles presuppose…” Watch the video below, and if you haven’t listened to the album yet pick it up digitally or on vinyl.
Review: Sleeping With Sirens – Feel
Released: June 4, 2013
Label: Rise Records
Purchase: Digital | CD | Vinyl
Sleeping With Sirens‘ latest album, Feel, is the post-hardcore band’s first release since their incredibly successful acoustic EP If You Were A Movie, This Would Be Your Soundtrack last year. The album returns to the general band’s pop-hardcore style, although certain tracks do veer off to several special creative directions, especially the tracks containing collaborations.
Up to their standard, Sleeping With Sirens’ Feel is incredibly catchy and musically pleasing to the ear. There are the same powerful, high-pitched belts and the sanguine riffs found in the band’s earlier songs; if anything, the sound appears to be more advanced than before. The title and first track, Feel, as well as the subsequent tracks I’ll Take You There and Free Now, are especially catchy and memorable. Sleeping With Sirens also does wonders balancing between light and heavy sounds in the album; there seems to be no problems at all meshing sounds such as Satellite, Sorry, and Low with Déjà Vu, These Things I’ve Done and The Best There Ever Was. Overall, the sound of the album is satisfying and compelling.
Several tracks take a unique twist, most with surprisingly successful outcomes. Alone takes the cake with a feature from rapper Machine Gun Kelly—in the track, vocalist Kellin Quinn himself sings in a pseudo-rap style, creating a sublime and very unforgettable crossover between the two genres. Similarly, The Best There Ever Was features deathcore band Attila‘s frontman Fronz, and it utilizes his rapid-fire screaming to create a unexpectedly solid piece. And These Things I’ve Done includes incredibly gratifying electronic and hardcore sounds. Almost ironically, however, the album’s most highly anticipated collaboration with Memphis May Fire‘s Matty Mullins in Congratulations appears to be one of the weakest tracks and an example of two talented artists teaming up with mediocre results.
Compared to their earlier work, Feel appears to be an improvement and a bold attempt to distinguish themselves as the very best in post-hardcore. While individually several tracks may not be “love at first listen” and may require a few replays to fully enjoy it, holistically the album is diverse and powerful.
Standout Tracks: “Alone”, “Feel”, “I’ll Take You There”, “Sorry”, “Satellites”
8.0
Track listing:
01. Feel
02. Here We Go
03. Free Now
04. Alone (feat. Machine Gun Kelly)
05. I’ll Take You There (feat. Shayley Bourget of Dayshell)
06. The Best There Ever Was (feat. Fronz of Attila)
07. Low
08. Congratulations (feat. Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire)
09. Déjà Vu
10. These Things I’ve Done
11. Sorry
12. Satellites
Interview: The Dirt Radicals
Hey guys! First off, can you introduce yourselves and tell us your roles in the band?
Matt: Hey, I’m Matt and I play drums in The Dirt Radicals. I also do a bit of backing vox.
Mas: I’m Mas, I play the guitar and sing in The Dirt Radicals.
Sam: Hi, I’m Sam I slappa’zi’bass-mahn and sing in The Dirt Radicals. And write a lot.
With Enter Destroyer set to drop on the 25th, can you tell us a bit about the writing/recording process?
Matt: We started off recording in studios around the world. From Singapore to Tokyo to London… Using gear we love and people we want to work with. Then we took more and more control over the recording process until it was completely DIY. We always wanted it mastered at Blasting Room Studios. We love the albums they do over there, so we decided to get Enter Destroyer mastered with Jason Livermore. Go and check out what he has worked on… nuts!
Do you have any personal favorites off of the new record? Can you tell us a bit about those?
Matt: My personal favourite is 25, Alive. It takes me back to my ‘skater punk’ roots. It’s also the fastest song on the album.
Mas: Each song has a different story, background and message and I love them all and it’s the kind of thing that’ll change over time depending on your mood and such, but my personal fav’ at the moment is March April Maybe.
Sam: I’m with Mas on this one. But, I’m also really digging the set of balls The One That Got Away (With Murder) has on it. Just a bit more attitude’y and I think it’ll be a good ‘Live’ song.
Is there anything you did differently? What can your long-time fans expect from the new record?
Matt: We used one of those sub-kick mics on the kick drum. We’ve never used one before and it just opened up a whole load of control when it came to mixing drums. Other than that, a nice DW kit, and a selection of snares… Fun times!
Mas: I’ve almost always been the only guitarist in this band since our older days and so I’ve always had to keep in mind not to do anything that can’t be played live, like layers and harmonies that’d need more than 1 guitar to play, but with this record the songs are a lot more dynamic sounding and structured so I focused more on letting the songs have whatever they needed to have. The guys would come to me and say “Hey I think this part needs more depth?”, if we all agree then I’d go and record some clean arpeggios to add some depth. Turned out great and the songs sound epic as hell.
Vocal-wise, there’s a lot more going on as compared to our older stuff. With Matt in the ensemble, there is a lot more going on with vocal melodies/parts. Sam and I tried different techniques like the slides in The Greatest Depression Since The Great Depression and The One That Got Away (With Murder), and experimented a lot with our throats to hit a higher range like in iHate and My Everything.
Sam: I think fans expect to walk away from the album kinda confident in The Dirt Radicals? If that makes sense? We took a really long time making Enter Destroyer and I think people will be more willing to say they’re confidently a fan of the band after listening to it.
Sonically, what bands would you say are your biggest inspirations with this release and/or past releases?
Mas: I can’t really think of one right away as there are too many, but with the death of Tony Sly, I went over a lot of his music and realized how much I was influenced by him. It might not be anything noticeable but the ideas, his messages and everything. He was an amazing musician.
Matt: Yeah I have to agree with what Masashi said. I also found that I was just trying to be a more solid musician on this album. Just doing what is necessary and playing consistently – I think that comes from some of the latest releases of my all time fav bands like MXPX and NOFX.
Sam: One night Mas and I got pretty fucked up listening to The Wallflowers in my apartment in Chancery Lane, right above a Chicken Cottage. I think that was a really pivotal point in ‘making the album’ for us. The music was good, there was the smell of friend chicken in the air, and we kinda just spaced out listening to The Wallflowers’ One Headlight about 17 times. Sonically, I think we took a lot away from that night. We were also pretty messed up for about 3 days later…
You’ve mentioned that Enter Destroyer features a darker, rock-infused edge to your signature punk sound. Care to elaborate?
Matt: We never sat down and said ‘let’s write a dark album’… I’d say it’s just very honest. In terms of what we were going through when making it. It’s not all doom and gloom though.
Mas: As we grow up and get older we go through a lot of stuff and sometimes it can get pretty overwhelming that we forget what it was like when we were kids… Enter Destroyer to me is letting it in and accepting it in order to move forward with life.
Sam: Yeah, I’d say we still have that energetic punk rock vibe going on… It’s just gone in a new direction. I think we made a record that we would want to listen to as 28 year old punk rock fans.
Anything specific that inspired that change?
Matt: For me, I think we are just growing and with that our taste in music evolves. I think we are finally maturing? [Laughs]
Mas: Personal lives I guess. Moving out of Singapore and starting up new lives elsewhere has been quite a lesson.
Sam: I think the biggest inspiration for change in music style was our Live Show. I wanted to make sure we had some cool stuff to work with live.
You guys are now based in London. What’s the music scene like there? How does it compare to a place like Singapore and why did you decided to move there?
Matt: It’s pretty dog eat dog. A million bands, a million venues… It’s hard to get your head above the water.
Mas: There definitely is a wider scene there and bands are touring all the time so it motivates us a lot as a band.
Do you think growing up in a country as an expat that has shaped the way you’ve developed as a band and as musicians?
Matt: I wouldn’t know because I haven’t lived a different life to compare it to what I’ve been through. If you know what I mean? But if I had to guess – I’d say we had the same struggles (booking gigs, recording, making fans etc.). Just little things are different I guess. Like you can’t really hop in a van and tour Singapore. You know?
Mas: We got to go through lifestyles that I don’t think any international band has ever been through, and I believe it just adds to it.
On a more personal note, where would you do consider your “home country”, and why?
Matt: No clue! Haha. I’d say England is ‘home’ at the moment. I have my friends and family here. But I’ll also always consider Singapore and Australia home too. I grew up there!
Mas: I feel pretty safe being back in Nagano, my hometown in Japan although I’ve only lived there for 3 years throughout my life.
Sam: Cue the song Pop-Punk Left Me In A Pop-Funk off the new record to hear my answer in full…
[Laughs] Can’t wait to hear it. What’re some of your favorite things about being in a band?
Matt: Seeing someone in a crowd in another country sing along to one of your songs is pretty powerful. Nothing really beats it!
Mas: Being able to travel with my best friends, getting free drinks, driving in van for 15 hours and smelling like shit.
Sam: I think walking away from a real special show with Mas and Matt, and re-grouping, and being like ‘That was fucking awesome.’, and just partying together after the show. We have a few of those shows which we treasure pretty dearly.
Matt: A show we did with Sum 41 at the Hard Rock Cafe Singapore. It was my birthday, and the crowd was awesome. How can you top that?
Mas: Our first visit to Indonesia was pretty epic and memorable.
Sam: We did a small club show in Nagano, Japan last year which was our own headlining show. I just remember the crowd going nuts, and looking at the guys thinking how far we’d come with the most massive smile on my face.
Lastly, let’s talk about some firsts. How did your first band come together?
Matt: Going to gigs and making friends. [Laughs] Old fashioned. Didn’t have any of that ‘internet’ stuff back then!
Mas: We met at a gig when we were in different bands and found out that we lived close, hung out for drinks and jammed and bam!
What about your first musical experiences?
Matt: Playing the trumpet in a school band. I sucked and I hated it. Always wanted to be on the drums.
Mas: I think my first cry was in a key of Bb minor… Then I started learning the piano when I was 5.
Sam: I caught the drumstick at a Presidents of United States of America concert when I was 12. They were my favorite band in the world, and I remember just holding that drumstick for dear life thinking “That’s all I want to do. I want to be in a band.”.
Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us guys! Any last words you’d like to share?
Matt: Come down to one of our gigs and hang out with us. We love meeting people and trying local beers.
Mas: Thank you! Check out our stuff online!
Sam: Buy our new album on iTunes – it’s good shit!
Pre-order Enter Destroyer on iTunes here! The Dirt Radicals will begin their UK tour to support the new release this July. Check out the dates here!
Interview: Harmful If Swallowed
Hey! First, let’s get formalities out of the way: could you guys introduce yourselves and your band?
Sure! We are Greg Martin (Guitar/vocals) Josh Loren (percussion), Carlos Nieto III (Bass/Backing vocals), Brian Martinez (Rhythm guitar) and our band is called Harmful if Swallowed.
Awesome! First, let’s talk about your impressive history. You guys were featured in tons of MTV shows. How does it feel to have gone through such amazing experiences?
It’s been surreal. To be watching an episode of Fantasy Factory or Nitro Circus and to hear our music come up in a random scene is the best feeling in the world! We have many of those episodes recorded for posterity.
You guys also toured with the likes of Green Day, Weezer, KoRn, and Bad Religion, big names in the music industry for sure. How have these unique experiences contributed to your growth as a band?
It has humbled us and made us appreciative of every opportunity we get to play in front of people. It has also given us a crash course in getting along with each other and taught us to always be prepared for the unexpected…Valuable lessons for any band.
Do you guys have any additional plans to tour anywhere outside of the United States?
We’ve been in talks with bands to do a mini west coast tour, maybe further down the line we might venture out of the states depending on if we hook up with the right booking agent.
Your EP, Allergy, was just recently released. It definitely sounds different than your previous work. How do you feel about the evolution of the sound of Harmful If Swallowed? Do you like the direction it’s going?
We’re so stoked about this EP! It has been a long time coming and by far our best sound to date. Allergy is the next step in our musical evolution!
You guys recorded Allergy with the help of Sunset Lodge Recording’s owner Chris Rakestraw and Grammy-winning producer Matt Hyde. How was that?
It was an amazing experience working with Chris and Matt. To be around that level of talent and workmanship was awe inspiring. We learned a lot from them. We had a lot of help from others in the music industry as well. Carlos’ old high school friend Oliver Charles, drummer for Gogol Bordello, lent our drummer Josh, some of his drum equipment, which upped our game immensely. Mr. Tio Banks, keyboardist from Duran Duran stopped in during our recording to lay down some sweet synth tracks!
Any favorite tracks on the EP, or just in your discography in general?
Each member has their favorite song or songs but over all we feel that our strongest songs are Sabrina, Allergy and Hateful.
What hobbies do you guys have? Besides, of course, making kickass songs and rocking out in front of your fans.
Greg DJs in his spare time, Carlos is a professional fine artist, Brian is a graphic designer and Josh loves astronomy.
How is the music scene in LA? Where does it thrive and where is it lacking?
Like anything else, you have to put the work into it in order to enjoy the fruits of your labor. That being said, the music scene out here in LA seems to thrive when it happens organically and for the love of the music and not for the money.
Any cool stories to tell about anything you guys have went through in the past few years?
We are a fiercely DIY (Do It Yourself) band so laying the groundwork for bigger and better opportunities are what we strive for. The people in the music industry that we’ve met and the connections that we’ve made with them have been amazing! Watching doors open via our own hard work is the best feeling ever!
Great! Last question. Favorite ice cream flavor?
That’s a tough one, it teeters between plain vanilla and Rocky Road!
Thanks to Harmful If Swallowed for the interview! You can purchase a digital copy of Allergy via iTunes or Amazon.
DAVIDS’ “Dead Walkie” Exclusive Stream
You can also watch the music video for Dead Walkie which was directed by Christopher Mills (Interpol, Modest Mouse, Rush). The video was shot on location in Lyon, France. For more information check out DAVIDS‘ Facebook, Twitter and website.
Tracklisting:
1. Iranians
2. Buried in Cocaine
3. Dead Walkie
4. Right On
5. Conduits
6. Wałęsa/Sad Dealer (Music for Credits)
Stream: Jen Buxton – “Desperation Demos”
Listen: Dreamers Dose – “Pray for Me, Fragile”
Indie psychedelic rock band Dreamers Dose are about to release their debut full-length album, At Least We’re Happy this summer. Dreamers Dose formed in 2009 when Andrew Stogel (vocals), Jesse Perlman (guitar), Levi Dylan (bass) and Josh Conway (drums) began performing together in high school. The band are heavily influenced by artists such as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Radiohead, and Queens of the Stone Age. To promote the new album they teamed up with Alarm Magazine to premiere a song from the release titled, Pray for Me, Fragile. You can listen to the stream of the song here.
In Andrew Stogel’s words about the new track, “I was walking through the streets of suburbia when the melody and lyrics for Pray for Me, Fragile came together in my head. After working it out for a while, I brought it to my bandmates and we’ve played it ever since.” For more information about the band check out their Facebook, Twitter, and website.
Listen: Listener – “Eyes To The Ground For Change”
Interview: The Front Bottoms
The Front Bottoms recently released their highly anticipated sophomore album, Talon Of The Hawk to critical acclaim. You can read our review of the album here. I got the chance to talk to Brian Sella, vocalist/guitarist of the band, just before he and the rest of The Front Bottoms head off on their nationwide tour of the US beginning on June 1st. You can pick up the record in vinyl, digital or CD form and read the full interview below!
Your highly anticipated new album Talon of the Hawk came eight days ago, how excited were you to share it with the fans? Where did the album name come from?
Extremely excited!! We are super proud and stoked for people to hear it. The name came from our imaginations.
How has the addition of two new members, Tom Warren and Ciaran O’Donnel, impacted the band’s sound compared to the self-titled? How did you choose them?
We didn’t choose them… they’re handsome friends of ours. They added a edge to Talon of the Hawk that made the sound fuller than the self-titled album.
So you chose to work with a producer and record in a studio for this album, how did that experience go?
It was a great experience, one that all of us are glad we got to be involved in. The record sounds the way it sounds because of the circumstances we recorded it in.
Where did the inspiration come from for the songwriting process?
A lot of the inspiration for this record came from the road and the experiences we have had over the past two years.
Oh, I see. So while on the road what bands do you all listen to in the van?
A lot of different stuff. Off the top of our heads: Foxy Shazam, Built to Spill, K.D, The Menzingers, Bad Books, Modest Mouse, Cheap Girls, Tigers Jaw..
On the topic of touring, after your month-long tour of the United States, what’s next?
We plan on touring a bunch more. Just keep on keeping on.
Any last words?
Just a big thank you! Rock and roll.
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