Dust Settles Down
Pop Punk, Power Pop, Emo, Skacore, Garage Rock and more.
Long weekend be damned (in Canada, anyway,) I’m going to get some posts done!
Spent some time in a canoe the other day, and also went to the movies for the first time in a while. As someone who used to go to the movies multiple times a week as a part of my podcast hosting routine, once all the podcasting stuff slowed down I really stopped going altogether, instead watching most stuff once it hits VOD. But since moving out of the city, I’ve been twice in a few months. Nothing like I used to, but hey still, a nice evening out. Canoeing was also another good baby step into my crunchy granola years.
But I’ve still been listening to a bunch of stuff so here’s my thoughts on what has been in my speakers. We’ve got a ska-heavy post here people, you’ve been warned! 😂
Hope you find something you dig!
Icon legend:
⛏️ denotes picks of the week.
🌱 seedling denotes albums I liked, but may grow on me.
✨ means worth a look, if you like the genres listed in particular.
✂ on a review denotes choice cuts from an album
As always, please reach out on the hellsite if you’d like or better yet join the Rosy Overdrive Discord server where I can be found now and again. You can also find me in the corners of Rate Your Music scrounging for obscure emo, hardcore, indie-rock and pop-punk.
Don’t forget: if you’re reading this in your email it will be cut off. Read on the web for the full list of reviews!
⛏️ Hell Beach - Meltdown / Weekend Crush / Poison Mind (2024)
O.K., so this isn’t an album and it also isn’t an EP. But Hell Beach have released three singles off their upcoming album Beachworld (out via Uncle Style Records, which I believe is associated with Mike Sosinski and Bad Time Records? The bands on Uncle Style seem to be where the non-Ska acts that Mike works with go.)
Anyway, these three singles have immediately become massive earworms for me. I’ve been listening to this three-single run on Spotify non-stop, as if it is an actual EP. In particular, “Poison Mind” has me wildly hooked on their crunchy power-pop-punk with tasteful synths sound. In particular the pre-chorus here is maybe the catchiest hook I’ve heard all year (“How’re you gonna un-fuck yourself? / How’re you gonna un-fuck everything?”).
High recommendation, and I’m just stoked to hear this whole album on Friday.
🌱 Yon Loader - Yon Loader (2024)
Genre: Emo, Midwest Emo, Indie Rock
James Stuteley of Carb on Carb teams up with a varying supporting cast (according to the press kit, featuring members of Recitals, Welcomer, For Everest, Model Home, Fouler, First Move, and Bad Friend). Where Carb on Carb tightly focused on the fizzy kind of effervescent and hooky emo/indie rock side of modern takes on the emo genre, this record takes a bit more of a midwestern, noodly approach.
Thankfully, they do it in a way that works up some very good melodies and avoids the usual issues I have with this kind of thing (namely the immature style of arrested development "weed emo" thing with super noodly mathy guitars over yelping about your buds or whatever.) This hits a good balance of melodramatic emo vibes without being so self-serious that you can't just enjoy these songs at a purely melody level.
This splits the difference between the math rock-y lead guitar lines and mid-tempo power-pop influenced elements of emo's second wave. You could name check American Football or Mineral (like Brooklyn Vegan does in the press-kit) but that would only be describing a smaller slice of this record's sound.
Sure, it has those tippy-tappy riffs and all, but it signals towards a much more nuanced understanding of what makes the emo genre tick than you often get from modern revival acts.
There being 4 or 5 short songs that feel like transitional pieces lend a bit of a fleeting feeling to the album, but the often-changing vocalists actually helps do the opposite, making this feel oddly cohesive as a kind of group effort record.
All said and done, this might end up more in the "admired absorbing the record, not sure if I will need many, many listens of it" pile this year, but it's a strong effort.
✨ Kill Lincoln - I’m Fine (I Lied) (Single, 2024)
Genre: Ska Punk, Pop Punk, Melodic Hardcore, Skate Punk
Another first for me, discussing a lone single versus an entire album. I’m pretty picky when it comes to my ska, although I’ve enjoyed some stuff around the ska revival happening over at Bad Time Records.
For some reason over the past 4 years, I would pop in and try Kill Lincoln’s album Can't Complain here and there when I was in a ska mood but they never clicked for me. When they dropped this single, I gave it a whirl and it hit pretty good I’ve gotta say!
I went and gave Can't Complain another chance, and oh hey today it's working too! Helps that they are very much Less Than Jake role play, which hey I have a lot of time for them too so that's A-OK by me.
They definitely have a good bit of punk remaining in the foundation of their sound, something that helps with modern ska-punk bands I find. The bands that skew further and further from punk DNA lose me sometimes, unless it's counteracted with a good understanding of reggae rhythms or something else interesting. Anyway, really fun stuff!
Can’t wait for the full record, out September 27th.
✨ Omnigone - Feral (2024)
Genre: Skacore
If you liked their album Against the Rest, you'll likely enjoy this new one. Ska-core from members of Link 80, high energy punk rock with horns and upstrokes, no mozzarella stick ska punk to be found here. It's 26 minutes, so pretty hard to complain even if this is more of the same as expected.
It continues to make me smile that there's a thriving ska punk scene driven by Bad Time Records that allows room for a lot of varying types of third-wave revival ska and beyond.
Swami & the Bed of Nails - All of This Awaits You (2024)
Genre: Punk Rock, Garage Rock, Rock & Roll
I love a lot of what John Reis has done in the past - Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, Rocket From the Crypt, Plosivs - so I'm always keen to hear what they are up to these days.
This sounds a lot like a Reis project - garage-y rock and roll punk rock etc. Sounds very much like a Reis-only Hot Snakes kind of thing going on, but with more of their Rocket from the Crypt style rock and roll worship. It's fun and only 23 minutes. Solid stuff. Rob Crow features on a couple songs, as does Hot Snakes member Jason Kourkounis.
I think that Reis' non-Crypt work is a pinch better when they have prominent contrasting members (i.e. Rob Crow in Plosivs or their work with Rick Froberg) but this is still very good.
Cowboy Boy - Lipstick on a Pig (2024)
Crunchy power-pop pop-punk breakup album. Has that self-deprecating open-diary-page kind of lyrical approach that can be hit or miss for me. The mid-tempo stuff inches into rock opera power ballad territory ("It's French"). In that way maybe a better comparison than the usual Weezers and Rozwell Kids might be early Say Anything since this has a bit more ambition in that regard.
Didn't mind this but not sure about it getting into my rotation for the year so the score for it has a ceiling I think.
Blood - Loving You Backwards (2024)
Genres: Indie Rock, Slowcore, Experimental Rock
Pretty good slowcore-esque indie-rock with maybe some emo and alt-rock undertones. Has a bit of that indie-rock grab-bag of styles thing going on as well. Totally cromulent but didn't do a whole lot much aside from being nice background music for me this morning. Some of their melodies are strong enough to satisfy in that shambly, slacker indie kind of way ("Oh Forget").
You know that meme online where people are making fun of the "baby-voice" thing in pop music? "OY THEAY WEATHEAUH OUTSEYAIDE OIS FROIGHTFOAWWW" or whatever? I think maybe the singer in this is doing the masculine version of that… sorry!!!
Maybe it’ll grow on me, I dunno…
✨ For Science - Revenge for Hire (2006)
This reminds me a lot of the early Plow United records. 17 songs, 20 minutes and a varying types of scrappy poppy punk rock - from fast and short ones to slightly less fast and slightly longer ones. Features Mikey Erg on a few songs doing backing vocals (and also on mastering duty.)
All of them have that crunchy hooky thing going on while still maintaining their punk grit. Kind of like that bubblegum-with-gravel thing that a lot of 90s independent pop-punk bands were doing.
✨ Capdown - Pound for the Sound (2001)
Genre: Ska Punk, Skacore, Hardcore Punk
Sorry ska haters, it’s a ska-heavy post today, okay?
Capdown play Ska-core that really holds up on the -core end of the bargain. This is foundationally very punk - really fast and suitably hard. Effectively bounces between both sides of the genre - the third-wave ska-punk and the punk rock elements. Some songs definitely edge into melodic hardcore territory when they're not doing the ska thing ("Time to Get Out").
Capdown is a band I've had on my radar for a while now, and I've also tested the waters of Civil Disobedients here and there in the past, but for some reason this is the record that hit the mark for me, even though it seems less popular.
Young Livers - Of Misery and Toil (2010)
Genre: Post-Hardcore
Punk rock from Gainesville, FL with shades of orgcore, post-hardcore and emo. There's more than a little Small Brown Bike, Hot Water Music and Samiam in here. Maybe some Doves-era Tenement Kids in moments. Well rounded, well performed stuff. Not bad at all but also not sticking in my mind as something I'm dying to circle back on. Worth a look though, for sure.
That’s it, that’s all. Be excellent to one other.
Mustard is loving the ska representation on this list. They can't stop listening to the new Omnigone album. Bad Time Records, along with Ska Punk International, have been doing some incredible things these last few years. You are correct: Uncle Style Records is associated with Mike from BTR. It is their Pop Punk/Non Ska associated label. Excited for the full length Hell Beach album and the new Kill Lincoln!