Metalcore/Punk
Fleeting Youth Records’ Volume 1 Compilation
In Fleeting Youth Record’s own words about the event, “YES! We will be throwing a SXSW party on Thursday, March 13th from 2pm-2am. We would LOVE if you came and got weird with us. Free beer, free entry, loud noises. Who is playing? Mumblr, Clouder, HABITS, Big Bill, LA Font, Krill, GRASS IS GREEN, Two Inch Astronaut, The Ghost Wolves, Gunther Doug, Butter The Children, Bent Shapes, and Basketball Shorts!!! Brooklyn, Boston, Austin, Los Angeles, Nashville, oh my.” Stream the compilation below and pick it up on their Bandcamp!
Stream: Clouder – “Lost In Reverie”
Stream: Chiodos – “Ole Fishlips Is Dead Now”
Track: CHAMP – “Burnt Alive”
Artist: CHAMP
Release Date: February 18th 2014
Label: Fleeting Youth Records
Hailing from San Diego four piece outfit, CHAMP‘s single Burnt Alive lays testament to the re-emergence of catchy as hell garage punk bands e.g. The Orwells, FIDLAR, and Mumblr. The song kicks off with a little bass lick followed by frontman Joel Williams howling over fuzz drenched chords, “I don’t wanna walk down memory lane / it’s all the same / it makes me feel like nothing’s changed”. With arpeggiated riffing and thematically weary verses, you just can’t wait for the anthemic chorus paired tastefully with squealing feedback to kick back in. CHAMP’s debut self-titled album on February 18th will be released in both cassette and digital formats via Fleeting Youth Records. Pre-order the album here, and stream Burnt Alive below!
Rating: 9.25/10
Stream: Ice Nine Kills – “The Predator Becomes The Prey”
Stream: La Dispute – “Stay Happy There”
La Dispute‘s forthcoming record Rooms of the House, is now available for pre-order. There are both LP and CD formats alongside bundles including Yesterday’s Home, a 48 page paperback of lyrics, notes, photographs and artwork which documents the writing and recording of ROTH, a 3″ embroidered patch, an exclusive sticker pack, a tote bag and a 12″ screen printed poster. All pre-orders also come with an immediate download of “Stay Happy There” which is available to stream unofficially on Tumblr and YouTube.
Their new studio album is being released through their own record label called Better Living which in their own words was “created as a means to collaborate with other artists and also non-profits and charities who we connect with and want to support. As part of the pre-order for Rooms of the House, we are inviting those who order to choose one of three organizations from their region that they would like to support through their purchase. The three organizations will all be given a donation, the amount depending on the number of votes each receives.By choosing one of the organizations, you are helping them continue to run projects, workshops, and programming within your communities and around the world. We encourage you to look into each of the programs and choose something that you feel is important to you.” Rooms of the House was recorded and mixed by Will Yip at Studio 4 in Philadelphia, produced by Yip and La Dispute, and mastered at The Lodge by Emily Lazar. To pre-order the album and pick up one of the bundles click here or for a digital copy click here for iTunes. Check out the track listing for the new album to be release on March 18th below.
Track listing:
1. Hudosonville, MI 1956
2. First Reactions After Falling Through the Ice
3. Woman (In Mirror)
4. Scenes from Highways 1981-2009
5. For Mayor in Splitsville
6. 35
7. Stay Happy There
8. The Child We Lost 1963
9. Woman (Reading)
10. Extraordinary Dinner Party
11. Objects in Space
Stream: Neck Deep – “Growing Pains”
LITS’s Top 10 Tracks Of 2013 – Erik Barns
10. Idol – Smith Westerns from Soft Will
The Smith Westerns have such a nice feel good sound, as Harri remarked. The whole album flows really well. Gotta show some love for the bois comin out of chi-town, ya dig?
9. Opposite of Afternoon – Unknown Mortal Orchestra from II
Even though they have even more current work than II, Opposite of Afternoon was the song that really turned me onto the rest of their songs. A really mystical and psychadelic sound that always feels really smooth.
8. On Doing An Evil Deed Blues – Lil Ugly Mane from Prelude to Panopticon
The song changes its sound a lot as it progresses but I love the production. I’m a sucker for some nice brass instruments thrown in there for a bit too, you have to love that brass.
7. Sleep Apnea – Beach Fossils from Clash The Truth
Sleep Apnea really turns down the tone of Clash The Truth, but I loved how Beach Fossils used some acoustic guitars and just went with this extremely dreamy melody. There are other favorite tracks off this album but at first listen Sleep Apnea caught my attention and I’ve loved it since.
6. What Drugs Got To Do With It? – Pussy Wizard from What Drugs Got To Do With It?
Pussy Wizard remarks that this is “15 minutes of shits and giggles” but I loved it. Whether or not this compilation of songs is a joke, it has some really sick tunes in it. It tends to be pretty low key but has a few drops in the heavily distorted beat that just hit me like a wall.
5. Dig Deep Enough – Gogol Bordello from Pura Vida Conspiracy
I have to throw some love at Gogol Bordello. Dig Deep Enough reminded me a lot of the song “Ultimate”, a really pleasant song that isn’t afraid to get down and dirty. A lot of fluctuation between punk and softer acoustic sounds.
4. Kill Someone – Cool Serbia from Cool Serbia
Kill Someone has a kind of dark sound but has a lot of jams in it.
3. A Lizard State – King Krule from 6 Feet Beneath the Moon
This song is just really groovy, a really catchy guitar that feels really jazzy to me. I loved the whole album and would have thrown it all up here if I could have. Really stoked to see what else he does in the future.
2. Philadelphia – Mumblr from White Jesus/Black God
I kind of wish I could combine Philadelphia, Cats, Yo Nobody Gives a Feel, and Space God all in one “top track”. These songs are relatively short and are intended to go together on the tape. The combination is just a really fun set of songs for me.
1. Side One – Lil Ugly Mane from Three Sided Tape Volume Two
Side One is probably not a very reasonable choice for a top track. It’s a mixture of short beats often with a few rap verses thrown in there but I love each an every beat on it. They all are just so phat, it makes the 16 minute compilation just kind of fly by.
LITS’s Top 10 Tracks Of 2013 – Keith Yeo
10. So Long Soldier – All Time Low from Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now!
In October, pop-punk giants All Time Low re-released their 2012 record Don’t Panic, entitled Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now! (haha penis joke??) promising four brand new songs to the original track list (along with the obligatory acoustic versions of the bigger songs on the album, of course). While I definitely didn’t love the new songs (A Love Like War featuring Pierce The Veil frontman Vic Fuentes felt like a waste of a great collaboration with a ton of potential), the re-release pushed me to revisit the 12 songs ATL released in 2012, and, damn, So Long Soldier was a good fucking song. Alex Gaskarth tells the story of his journey from being a “little boy from just outside of London” to becoming the “voice of a generation” with his powerful vocals, highlighted by aggressive guitar riffs played over Rian Dawson’s lightning speed drumming. So Long Soldier is an awesome throwback to the band’s early punk roots, and gives long time fans incredible amounts of nostalgia which is something that I’ll always appreciate from any band as big as All Time Low. (Also that guitar riff, goddamn!)
9. Peace Sign – Lights from Siberia (Acoustic)
Siberia (Acoustic) is pretty much exactly what the name suggests, an acoustic reinvention of Lights’ second album Siberia. The acoustic album was a really interesting take on the synth pop (and occasional dubstep) flavor of the original. The track Peace Sign features fellow canadian singer, Coeur De Pirate, who contributes her voice to half the song… IN FRENCH. Safe to say it took me by surprise, the french translation of the original lyrics give the track an interesting spin, making it much more than a plain, boring “acousticyfied” rendition. Additionally, (after a quick wikipedia check) I feel that it was a sick way to include the francophone from Montreal who is credited with “bringing la chanson française to a whole new generation of Quebec youth”. Peace Sign (Acoustic) is a great, mellow spin on the more upbeat original (which I also love), dishing out a more intimate listening experience with a finger plucked acoustic guitar and small touches of orchestral strings. And besides, french lyrics make everything at least 20% better.
8. Right Back At It Again – A Day To Remember from Common Courtesy
It would be a bit of an understatement to say that A Day To Remember’s latest album was highly anticipated. After a three year wait filled with legal battles and huge delays in release dates, Common Courtesy was self-released by the band. Right Back At It Again was the second single released off the album and is probably one of my favorite tracks off the record. Filled with catchy hooks and heavy breakdowns, the song isn’t the most creatively experimental thing the band has done. But after a three year wait, the typical pop-punk/metalcore combo song is just what I wanted from A Day To Remember. Besides, how sick was that “BRACE FOR IMPACT” right before that final breakdown? (Answer: really fucking sick!!!)
7. Clairvoyant – The Story So Far from TSSF vs STYG Split EP
Read my review of the track here!
6. Dead – Real Friends from Put Yourself Back Together – EP
Real Friends is great pop-punk band that I, unfortunately, only got around to checking out this year. Their EP Put Yourself Back Together was released in June. With 7 solid tracks, I found Dead to be my favorite; and great example of Dan Lambton’s extremely honest, albeit straightforward lyrics and his raw, heartfelt delivery. Also, was it just me that got majorly hyped when the the last few lines came in?
5. Atonement – Georgia Maq from Friends & Bowler’s Run – EP
One of the coolest things about working at Lost In The Sound is the awesome music that gets recommended to me from the other writers. Shoutouts to our editor Harri Gibson for introducing me to Georgia Maq, an acoustic singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. I fell in love with the her EP at first listen, the angst-filled track Atonement being a favorite. Some of my favorite lyrics from the song include, “All my fucking rhymes are bad, / and my only good song is about my Dad” and “My name’s Georgia Maq, / and I have to learn to be comfortable with that / because I am all I have.” Georgia’s songs are simple, straightforward, incredibly witty and just overall a good time.
4. The Robot With Human Hair Pt. 4 – Dance Gavin Dance from Acceptance Speech
The Robot With Human Hair returns for the fourth time in Dance Gavin Dance’s new album Acceptance Speech. The band has seen its fair share of lineup changes and three different vocalists throughout their lifetime. Acceptance Speech marks the first album of Jonny Craig’s replacement, Tillian Pearson. I pretty much love everything this band puts out, but Tillian’s unique vocals are just such a good fit for the band, which he shows with this song. The back and forth between Tillian’s clean vocals and Jon Mess’s screams give me chills every time I listen to it. “I wear my soul on my sleeve at night, SE-SE-SEARCHING FOR SUBSTANCE!!!” Pretty much everything in this album is great, this song just gets a little extra love from me, being the Robot’s final appearance before it’s death.
3. This Is How and The Wind Shifts – Silverstein from This Is How The Wind Shifts
2013 marks the 13th year for canadian post-hardcore band Silverstein since their formation. Despite being the soundtrack of my angst-ridden middle school existence, the band had unfortunately fallen off my musical radar in recent times. After a recommendation from a friend, I decided to check out their February release This Is How The Wind Shifts, a solid album with great tracks from start to finish. While listening, I came across a fan made youtube video that merged the two tracks that formed the album’s title, This Is How and The Wind Shifts and just, holy shit. Alone, the two tracks seem like two interlude tracks, but put together, they formed an entirely new song. The coolest thing about it is, each song lyrically makes sense on it’s own, but still remain cohesive when put together, the back and forth between the two tracks a giving it whole new meaning. This Is How The Wind Shifts makes for one hell of an easter egg, giving a whole new level of depth, creativity and craftsmanship to Silverstein’s songwriting and sums up the entire concept of duality that the album is built on (each song has a parallel e.g. Arrivals//Departures). If that isn’t the best damn example of a what a title track should be, I don’t know what is.
2. Can You Feel My Heart – Bring Me The Horizon from Sempiternal
UK metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon really pushed the creative envelope of the genre with their latest album Sempiternal. Can You Feel My Heart is the first track on the record and I was pretty surprised with what I heard. A big booming synth intro and epic ambience in place of down tuned breakdowns over Oliver Sykes’ intense screaming. Speaking of, Can You Feel My Heart it’s probably the most impressive examples of Sykes’ vocal work to date. The frontman shows a newfound diversity in his skill set, from big melodic screaming to, surprisingly, mellow clean singing. The track is also a huge step up lyrically, containing one of my favorite lines ever, “the higher get the lower I’ll sink, / I can’t drown my demons they know how to swim.” Can You Feel My Heart was a great surprise for me and just set an awesome tone for the rest of the album which was in my opinion, one of the best releases of the year.
1. Passing Through A Screen Door – The Wonder Years from The Greatest Generation
This year, we saw the release of the the third and final installment in The Wonder Years’ three album trilogy, The Greatest Generation. Passing Through A Screen Door was the first single revealed by the band and honestly is probably one of my favorite songs of all time. The song comes in strong, with vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell belting out his honest and heartfelt lyrics at the top of his lungs, declaring his fears and anxiety toward growing up and what society demands how someone should live their life. Soupy’s defeated, emotional delivery of the line “Jesus Christ, did I fuck up?” is my favorite moment in my entire music library. The track is half emotional breakdown and and half what can only be described as “FUCK YEAH MOTHERFUCKERS”. Passing Through The Screen Door is everything I love about this band and definitely deserves the number 1 spot on my list.
LITS’s Top 10 Tracks Of 2013 – Harri Gibson
10. Manger – The Sweater I Gave You from One
I only found out about the One, Two, and Three EP’s a couple of weeks ago, but the constant tape fuzz warmth and the duet vocals create this great pop tune perfect to start off my list.
9. Glossed – Smith Westerns from Soft Will
Hailing from Chicago, their album Soft Will is one of my feel good albums when I want to stray away from depressing tracks. Frontman, Cullen Omori’s airy vocals make this dreamy pop number for me and I’m looking forward to whatever is next from them.
8. I Still Think About Who I Was Last Summer – Old Gray from An Autobiography
I had to put at least one emo track on here… There’s an acoustic version of it on the Big Footprint Records compilation that’s pretty cool too. The slow guitar melodies, the heart wrenching lyrics and the spoken word prose at the end really show how far this band have come since their 2011 demo.
7. Good Shit – Georgia Maq from Friends & Bowler’s Run
Melbourne’s second finest, Shit Street Band for life! Plain and simple – acoustic strumming, strong vocals and easy relatability for any lost teenager. Friends & Bowler’s Run has been on repeat since I first picked it up, and a new release in the new year would be greatly appreciated.
6. Virgin Veins – Coma Cinema from Posthumous Release
Amongst the melancholy, this track stands out the most for me on the album. I would have chosen Survivor’s Guilt but the little blues-like electric solo and the refrain, “so lonely / so ugly / and confused” pushes it ahead of the others. The 12″ just got here yesterday so thanks Fork & Spoon Records!
5. Other Voices – The Orwells from Other Voices EP
Raw garage punk straight out of high school, with all the teenage angst you could ask for. This song only makes sense if it’s played loudly and any track that has the lyrics “Don’t grab my hand / I’m not your friend / I’m waiting for my life to end” deserves to be on a top ten list.
4. How They Made Us – Wil Wagner from Laika
I know that I should probably choose the titular track from this release, but it just wasn’t as relatable. I used to sing this song when I walked home, and had no clue where Punt Road was but it still meant something. I believe there’s a new solo album from Wagner in the coming year, and I’m pretty happy about that.
3. library – Julia Brown from to be close to you
There’s a hi-fi recording of this song on their 7″ but I’ve always preferred the fidelity of the album. Hauntingly beautiful lyrics, a violin, and Torts’ hair all coming together for an exceptional pop tune.
2. Back Flip – The Front Bottoms from Talon of the Hawk
I was skeptical when I knew they were adding two new members to the band, but everything stayed the same, the trademark lyrical style, Ullyich’s pulsating percussion and the arpeggiated powerchords. If anything the additional members just created bigger fuller build-ups and songs, which is always a plus. I just loved the lyrics and couldn’t get it out of my head for a very long time.
1. Ducks Fly Together – The Smith Street Band from Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams
Simply put The Smith Street Band are better than The Beatles ever were. I was split between this and Self Control for my favorite track of the year, but this song has everything, the sense of pining for someone, the signature crescendos, and a chorus that deserves to be shouted. Also it’s a bit more optimistic than the rest of these tunes and that’s needed at times.
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