#joel funk

Photo by the one and only Emily Dubin Written by Joel Funk

Jonathan Cooney is No Stranger. No Stranger is the kind of band that reminds you just how cold the Winter really is. They have a new EP called ‘Haste’ that is being released through our friends at Table Three Media. While No Stranger is an acoustic act, this collection of songs feels entirely fleshed out and will warm the heart of even the most stoic human beings. 

Cooney’s voice is so sweet and smooth that the morose tone of the lyrical content doesn’t jump out at you. However, once it hits you, it’s basically game over. You’re probably already overcome by the sheer beauty of these tracks and that biting sadness will be the drop that breaks the levee. I need you to believe me when I say that I’ve been there, and more recently than I would care to admit. 

Written by Joel Funk

I can’t remember how I first heard about Gin War, but hindsight is telling me that I should have paid a little more attention to ‘Half of a Good Plan’ than I did last year. When I listen to that record, it’s not hard for me to see why it fell so flat for me. It’s not because the songs are bad. In fact, a lot of what they got right on ‘Half of a Good Plan’ is what makes the songs on ‘Piece of Moon’ feel as flourished as they do. The reason that ‘Half of a Good Plan’ wasn’t a record I came back to was because the songs felt, for lack of a better word, neon. These songs feel like they could have been featured on an early The Maine record. I’m not going to even try and discredit anything The Maine have done, they’ve have written some stellar pop songs, but it wasn’t anything that I was actively looking for in music.

It’s always been clear that Gin War can write one hell of a soaring chorus. That’s the one trait I’m glad was carried over onto ‘Piece of Moon.’ These five songs feel like the natural next for them. There is a distinct Americana vibe that seems to stem from the Jersey scene that I can’t help but love. You can hear it when you listen to Run For Cover’s newest signee Pinegrove, and it’s made it’s way into this new batch of Gin War songs. This sound is at its most concentrated on the first song of the EP. “Cement” is a fuzzy pop song with a chorus simple enough to find itself stuck in your head, but not simple enough to sound like droning.

Written by Joel Funk

We’ve talked about Brave Season before. When we last spoke, I talked about how this band has channeled the kind of nervous energy that has become the staple of bands like Modern Baseball and attached to the same raucous and energetic styling of a band like Tiny Moving Parts. That all still holds true, which is a huge part of why I’m so excited to work with them. 

Written by Joel Funk

Sistine is an emo band from New Jersey that you’re all going to want to start paying attention to. This is what I would imagine it would sound like if Armor For Sleep had followed a similar path to the one Citizen is currently on. What I mean by that is that all in the same breath the music is somber and sweeping, much like the Citizen songs of late, the lyrics and vocals feel like they could have been torn from ‘What To Do When You Are Dead.’ If that’s not enough to draw you in, I suggest you go watch their music video for “Tired” and then make your way back here. 

Sistine will be releasing a new EP called ‘Right Now, I’m Numb Inside,’ and I can promise you that it will leave you feeling anything but. You can feel all of the heart that has been poured into these tracks, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see this EP garner them a fair amount of well-deserved attention. This is why I couldn’t be more excited to share this release with you guys a few days ahead of the release. 

I don’t know that I will be able to accurately express how much I love Petal’s debut album. It is soft and emotional, but packs enough of an oomph to make an impact. It’s another release to be added to a slew of incredible fall albums this year. 

Written by Joel Funk Edited By Caitlin Kohn

I’ve seen a lot of people in the scene that are either my age or just a little older that have seemed to (quite literally) fall back at shows. The blame is assigned to bad backs, weak knees, adult responsibilities, or any other myriad of completely logical culprits. Sure, I understand it. Hell, I even gave it a shot pretty recently. On Friday, May 22nd, I saw You Me and Everyone We Know, Daisyhead, and Future Crooks in Poughkeepsie and decided to give this thing a go.

I’ll even go so far as to admit that watching from the back of a venue as small as The Loft doesn’t make a tremendous literal difference, but a difference is still made. I was able to enjoy Future Crooks from the back end of a venue, sing along to the songs in the set list that I did know, and actually talk to the people I came with. It was a different experience than I was used to for sure...and I didn’t hate it. So, I let it continue through most of Daisyhead’s set.

I watched Daisyhead perform from the merch tables. I was half paying attention while eyeing the merch I knew I would be leaving with. They were great, but lacked a lot of crowd interaction besides asking about how to pronounce Poughkeepsie (Puh-Kip-See) at the beginning of their set. This adopted mindset worked out well for me here, because I can’t imagine how I would have felt being pressed against the stage for a set that I wasn’t totally invested in.

In the back of my head, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to watch You Me and Everyone We Know play from the back of the venue. I meandered to the front of the stage as kids shifted from the stage to merch. I’m sure that the same people I see praising this back of the venue shift have similar exceptions. I had to be at the front so that I could pour my heart out to these guys and sing/yell back every single word to every single song until I could feel my voice start to fade.

Written by Joel Funk

Yes, we are aware of the horrid circumstances surrounding Pure Noise Records and two musicians that were briefly associated with the label. I published my stance on the constant, disheartening rally of support for the musicians in a piece called “Let’s Talk: He’s a goody guy, he would never -- Rape Culture in 2015.” 

I’ve seen a lot of people call for a Boycott of Pure Noise Records. I admire the tenacity. However, there are bands and artists on this label that I love and support, and their only means of exit would be to break up and reform. Nobody wants that. I will continue to post about certain bands on the label, and I will be including a link to this very page before the “Keep Reading” of each and every post associated with Pure Noise Records. 

I want to be clear: I am not apologizing or advocating for Pure Noise Records. These circumstances are horrid and I would love to see the bands I love move on to another label of some sort. Alas, only so much can change. 

Each post that I make regarding bands signed to this label will contain the following disclaimer (or something similar).

Attention: In light of recent controversy, you can read about why we’ve chosen to not boycott Pure Noise Records here.

Because of that, I will be including a link to this post on all future articles in which we discuss Pure Noise or the bands associated with the label. Below is, once again, a link that provides an incredible resource. A page with the definition and examples of PROPER CONSENT. As in what it means and what it looks/sounds like.

What is consent?

Consent is never implied and cannot be assumed, even in the context of a relationship. Just because you are in a relationship does not mean that you have permission to have sex with your partner

Written by: Joel Funk Edited By: Caitlin Kohn

Spring is the timeframe in which everything starts to feel renewed.  The harsh disparity of winter has finally been shed, and life is starting to be seen again. The warmth of the sun on our skin always feels better than we remember, and shakes us out of the tumultuous mindset that months of sheer cold tend to leave us in. We begin to pine for the feeling of ease and lightheartedness, and music is always an incredible place to begin that journey. Music has always been there for me in times of transition, and I know that it always will be. In terms of the changing of the seasons, the style of music I’m consuming usually changes.

I wouldn’t say that I hop between genres, so much as stylistic differences within the genres that I’m already consuming. For instance, every season has it’s go to album in my library. Winter has The Hotelier’s ‘Home Like Noplace Is There’, Fall has Moose Blood’s ‘I’ll Keep You In Mind, From Time to Time’, Summer has I Can See Mountains’ ‘Life On A Houseboat’, and until recently, Spring had been left empty. So, I won't go so far as to say that hearing Nai Harvest’s new album ‘Hairball’ when I did was fate, but it couldn’t have happened at a better time.

Last July, Nai Harvest released a split with Playlounge that featured a song called “Buttercups.” This wasn’t the first Nai Harvest song to hit my ears, but it was the one that made me want to start paying attention. The version of the song on the split sounds a little rougher than the album recording, but the effect is still very much there. This song just feels good and if the riffy backbone of the song doesn’t draw you in, hopefully the lyrics will. There’s just something about that chorus of “I just wanna know what it feels like/Take me to the place where it’s alright/Lend me a hand and watch me run/I don’t wanna feel like a lowlife/Stab me in the chest with your knife/Fill me up again with buttercups” that feels absolutely magical.