Beyond the Mic

Very much enjoyed Real Friends' latest album (BLUE HOUR) this week and it was worth writing about. First of all, good pop-punk is ALWAYS appreciated, and then having it be LOCAL CHICAGO pop-punk adds icing on the cake.

Lotta drama with this group and the departure of their old lead singer Dan, but the band really has seemingly came out of it stronger than ever with Cody (from Youth Fountain) really taking over the band and just adapting the band in a new, but still appropriate 'Real Friends+' direction… I'm enjoying the slight departure and push into the bit more rocky side of the stuff and the new one is honestly probably my favorite of the whole discography.

The thing that made me most happy this week music wise was realizing that Mike Duce from Lower Than Atlantis is still making music under the moniker of HEADACHE. I get to hear his voice again! It's kinda fun little electronically rap/pop stuff. Nothing crazy excellent/deep (a lot of "getting older/time is passing by" lyrics), but certainly enjoyable music and if his insta is recent enough and accurate, hopefully he's back in the studio and creating new tracks! Excited to keep an eye (ear) out for it.

The algorithm continues to hit. What's this, now like, post 4 of new music JUST based on the algo? It's just too scary good sometimes.

I mean, I'm here for it. As a music fan, how can you not be obsessed with this 4/4 electric jazz fusion mess and want to dig in deeper? Okay dear reader, I'll bless you with the full track:

Yes, I had seen some Adam Neely videos in the past (one of my buddies is fan/subscriber) and liked them enough, but for whatever reason, i've just never gotten into the longer-esque videos he releases, which I get is a youtube algorithm thing (another post for another day), but THIS stuff, man, i can listen to it all day. Plenty of ear worms, interesting music stuff, but not TOO much to completely get me distracted from whatever it is i'm working on.

I just have no IDEA how one writes this stuff. Like, do you just set out to right the most complicated..? You know, i'm not even going to bother to take a guess. It's just impressive and I'm in awe of guys that can do this. A few more favorites below.

While this was intended as a bit of a longer post to highlight my love of Four Year Strong over the years, and that Dan & Alan have one of my favorite male vocalist duo pairs whose voices just… go so freaking well together… I just wanted to call out that their latest album, analysis paralysis is just really good. Not that they haven't continued to release good, good music over their career, but the latest is just full of BANGERS and to learn that they basically wrote the darn thing in like, 2 weeks and came into the studio with basically zero ideas just completely blew my mind. So, anyway, posting a few of my favorites from the new one below.

And just for the fun of it, my all-time favorite FYS track (throwback to Guitar Hero controllers!)

Yeesh. Linkin Park has had a MONTH.

On reflection, I like the Emptiness Machine, the new single. It's definitely Minutes to Midnight vibes. More simple guitar licks and nothing crazy, but definitely still LP. I do like the split of vocal duties between Mike… and the new… EMILY. They seem to fit pretty well together, and if this indication of what's to come.. I'm excited for this album. I mean, it's new LP. How can you not be at least somewhat excited?

I do think a buddy of mine is right though - with a new singer, honor Chester's legacy and create a new band. Let LP be LP and make a new thing. Everyone will still know it's LP, and its hard to imagine that you'd 'drop' fans because people don't know who you are, so there is some stomach churning that this does feel like a cash grab from Mr. Shinoda more than anything. I mean, of course he wants to make music, and has continued to do so, but like, you just couldn't do a new thing? What's the PRO of keeping the LP name? You're not continuing exactly as you were.. you've got a new singer, a new drummer, the guitarist isn't coming back.. so .. it's new, isn't it? IDK - that does feel a bit icky to me. I half get it, but still.

However, to Emily's credit.. I think she does pretty decent job replicating Chester's vocal range (minus his low low end which is why I think you've heard some key changes on a few tracks), and has some cool grit that carries pretty decently. And having never heard of Dead Sara before (who's apparently been around for quite some time!?) the girl definitely has chops that she can translate what she was clearly comfortable doing in a past band, to what LP is. You also gotta give her some credit here. She's stepping in ABSOLUTELY massive shoes to fill. The confidence that this girl has to have and the armor to go out there and sing Chester's stuff has got to be hard. Maybe that's a bit of what scientology offers a person? Man that was an interesting controversy too - LP (and Mike) HAD TO HAVE KNOWN that was coming and it just seems like either they didn't think it'd blow up in the way that it did, or .. IDK man. I feel like her apology post was about as good as it could have been, but the whole mess does still rub you in slightly the wrong way, and for a return announcement of one the biggest bands in the world, to have TWO issues that make you feel .. not the best, is probably not the best.

I'm really tired of Espresso (which i actually really don't mind as a track). What i don't care for, is Please Please Please at all.. which is also significantly overplayed. So forgive me if i went into Sabrina's latest with a bit of trepidation.

And then she hits you with Taste!? The third single, hoo boy that's a fun little track. Reminds me a lot of Sasha Sloan. Lyrics clever, fun beat, a great opener to what this 'short n sweet' little album delivers. I love these albums which are 30min and know EXACTLY what they want to say. No more just, throwing stuff against the wall and seeing (hoping) what sticks.

Now, me saying this album knows EXACTLY what it wants to say .. is a bit overkill. It's all over the place and I'll get into that, but I do think there's a cohesive thread to it all.

I love Good Graces. It's got this 90, destiny's child, jojo-esque vibe and it's kinda fun to see an empowerment, you gotta make yourself worth my time, as an juxtaposition immediately after please please please. Sharpest tool reminds me of Sasha again, and maybe some Lizzy McAlpine with such a simple driving beat. Confidence just SCREAMS Joni to me - with a bridge that allows her to take things her own way.. Bed Chem reminds me so much of The Night Game, and this great 80s vibe .. Dumb & Poetic is back to Lizzy… Slim Pickins is not really my jam, but love the words and interplay of Juno which is a delightful throwback to a movie I bet half of her audience won't even get/appreciate.

I've written about them before. And I still really like their debut album. And after some late night browsing, you're telling me there might be a second album!? wahooooooooo day made

I'm pretty sure i have the Instagram algorithm to thank for turning me onto ARTIO out of Leeds, in the UK this week. And it's a BIG THANK YOU.

These guys are baller. Just about every track off their new album Babyface hits HARD, and has some cool Pvris, Paramore, Billie (vocal-ish?) vibes with their own blend of industrial, rock/pop, and dance vibes.. Just solid head bobbing rock.

The first EP Pyrokid also nails it. Kinda nice to see the progression of the band over the years

And if they continue to produce stuff like the below (my favorite track from Babyface… which I like All I Wanted from Paramore, one of my all time faves).. i really hope these guys continue to make music for a long time.

TOE released an AWESOME new album, Now I See the Light in the last few weeks and not only has it made me very happy, but it's been the most listened to album i havein the last few weeks and so it deserved a post. Hard to imagine I last posted about about them 11 years ago now, and that their last album, Hear You, is already 9 years old. I'm old.. sigh.. but it's all good. So, let's go enjoy good music together while we still can

I listen to a lot of soundtrack music while I work. Words are distracting, and sometimes you just need something in the background to keep you going happy and your ears entertained.. and soundtracks have really have itched that need for me. I'm happy to name some of my favorites and those that are repeated time and time again, depending on the mood I need, how late it is in the day, or early in the morning.. could go for days on how i like to set stuff up.

Hans Zimmer: Interstellar, Inception, Blade Runner 2049, Dune.. - frankly, anything Hans… Thomas Newman - Meet Joe Black, Shawshank Redemption Harry Gregson - The Martian Ryuichi Sakamoto - The Revenant (seriously how can two notes convey so much damn emotion) Daniel Hart - Music From S-Town Powell's Bourne Series..

I've even heard some video game soundtracks are equally a good place to go, as those are literally designed to stay in the background of games, and keep you propelling forward and while I can't say i've totally found my calling here in that way that soundtracks have worked, there are definitely a few worth mentioning.. Destiny: Music of the Spheres (inspired by Halo-ish) - and featuring the one and only Paul McCartney..come on... Firewatch.. Harry Potter Legacy is actually solid..

Math Rock is also pretty legit when it comes to filling that no-vocal need but perhaps a bit heavier.. so i could.. oh.. this post was supposed to be about jazz, yes?

I'll get down to brass tax. In short, the other day a friend recommended some new modern jazz stuff and it was legit. Meet Fergus McCreadie everyone. Dude makes some AWESOME sounds.

I love this style of jazz and piano playing and if there are others in the same vein, please let me know.. i'm sure i'd eat all of it up and VERY MUCH APPRECIATE it.

It also helped me remember Mammal Hands, GoGo Penguin and several others who i'm pretty sure i've dedicated time to in the past, who I'm equally big fans.

new 'local' artists make me excited. Even if the 'local' is Fort Wayne ;)

And when I hear a like, Thank You for Scientists, Math Rock, pop-thing, with great vocals, and a stupidly friendly bass player whose face is now all over my social media feed. I get even more excited.

Their latest EP 'Heavy Lore' is just really solid. It moves, it grooves, and these guys are not just one of those groups who write songs following the A, B, A, B, C, B pattern but get creative and find inventive ways to carry an idea throughout their tracks and throw in plenty of ear worms/candies along the way.

Hard not to give Matt props over the last few years for his excellent "Emo's Not Dead" brand. Just nailing the scene (what, 10, 12, 15 years after it happened?), maintaining its relevancy, and just helping old fans live and enjoy reminiscing about the past. For a long time, just enjoyed to see who he was going to bring as a cameo in his next video, what poor shenanigans he was going to put his hot supermodel/influencer wife through. Loved just about every minute of it.

And then.. one video, he drops this BANGER of a song which just a perfect encapsulation of not only the scene, but everything he'd done to date. Fell in love immediately. Such an awesome track. It was an awesome escalation, and frankly, it set an insanely tough tone for him in the future, and after a few then, cameo tracks… we get the announcement.

KICKSTARTER? FOR AN ALBUM?

Hells yes this man quickly got some hard-earned currencies and now that the album is officially out, I have to give him even more props. Got some BIG BIG names to do the album with him, and the influences serving as the back-end prop of this album are just super fun. I couldn't help smiling the ENTIRE time i listened to it. Go listen to it. Listen to it now. Give the man his money - it's just so well deserved.

It's hard to know where to begin describing Sleep Token, and I could likely talk at extreme stupid lengths, but I'll try not to for your benefit, dear reader. Just know that they are one of my favorite 'metal' bands in the scene right now. They wear masks, have never had their identities revealed (even though many have tried, and there even was a scare when the drummer got doxxed, and then band took down all of their social media/websites and fans (including yours truly) FREAKED out that we had ended the band forever), and they just put out freaking excellent music which continues to build and build and build and showcase not only their strengths as musicians but just a willingness to push genres. Take the below - my (and probably a million others) favorite track of last year. The Summoning. It's really what caused this band to EXPLODE (more than they had previously).

It's metal. It's ambient. It's rock, it's pop. There's a cute interlude. THEN IT's JAZZ? JAZZ ROCK/R&B/POP-FUNK? HOW ON EARTH DOES THIS WORK SO EFFIN WELL.

So that's what I mean. Pushing genres, not staying in lanes, and just making kick-ass music. The Summoning will always have a special place in my heart, but below is my favorite from their latest album, Take Me Back to Eden. It's just .. so expansive. And awesome.

I could continue on endlessly, and talk about Vessel, talk about perhaps some of his acoustic earlier work in the english countryside.. their crazy good marketing skills, the youtube prowess, all of it. But it's probably not necessary. You just want to get back to the music, as do I. So let's get down to it.

Musically? What made me happy this week? Bilmuri. Bilmuri made me happy this week. He dropped another banger. AND with news a FULL-LENGTH is coming(?!) i couldn't be happier. It's another 2.5minutes of just afternoon delight.

Oh, and the fact that this guy is actually opening for Sleep Token is just stupid awesome.

How the hell that decision came about, or who made it happen is beyond me…. I'd truly love to see someone's data set (Spotify? anyone?) ... someone who has the correlation of fans between both bands.. like, in the venn diagram, who fits in the middle? And then to decides to book a whole tour based on that population. Actually.. not a half bad business idea Jay for when you retire or burn out from the rat race. Give me all the music listening data and i can make things h a p p e n.

And only now I realize I've not posted about sleep token yet. They really became ginormously huge while I was in my writing hiatus and they were basically my band/AOTY last year (which would certainly have warranted a post back then) but perhaps this is a good kick to write about them now so you can see why this is just such an odd combo of music. so, check on back music listening friends, and I'll gush about one of my top two favorite metal bands next week.

Anyway, i'll also sign out with Bilmuri. Cause it's his week.

Just a great song. Nothing more needs to be said.