Hundred Year Stare
Indie Rock, Power Pop, Garage Punk, Death Metal, Post-Hardcore and more.
Mornin’.
Sometimes I end up waiting a week or two between sending these out, and my posts go from “dang, I need to scrounge up some thoughts on records I’ve been listening” to “oops, this is huge now.”
This one certainly started like the former and ended up the latter, I’d say. We have a lot of stuff here, hopefully it falls under the something for everyone! category and not this is too long and I don’t want to read it.
And now, here’s some music. As always, I hope you find something to enjoy! Please let me know if you do!
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!
✨ Lesser Halves - The Gold, the Rush, the Rot, the Rust (2024)
Genre: Indie Rock
At times this sounds like when Mister Goblin or Options lean into their angluarly hooky emo-indie-rock moments (“Bully”, “Lake Mead”, “Two Lies and a Truth”) and other times they go further into a floatier or janglier midwestern emo influenced sound (“Private Jest”, “Again”.)
Overall this was well-rounded and worth a peek. There's a lot of indie rock around right now that has the same emo influences that this album does, but regardless this is well executed and sounded above average to me while it was on.
✨ Been Stellar - Scream From New York, NY (2024)
Genre: Indie Rock, Post-Punk Revival, Shoegaze
Throwback 90s indie rock stuff on here, sometimes the singer really makes me think of Clinic and other times when they are talkier they have a bit of a High/Low-era Nada Surf thing going on. This has a tag of post-punk revival but it feels a bit more varied than that - sometimes it has a dream-poppy jangle (“Sweet”) and other times they have a bit of shoegaze textures going on (“Can't Look Away”).
I actually wished this hewed closer to the vague High/Low sound they have going on because that is a lot more interesting to me than the shoegaze and dreamy wall of sound stuff they have going on, which feels very been-there-done-that to be honest.
⛏️ The Dreaded Laramie - Princess Feedback (2024)
Genres: Power Pop
Power-pop indie-rock breakup record with big hooks and big guitar harmonies. Produced and engineered by someone who worked with PUP so it has that big, big sound for sure. I'm a sucker for the huge riff hook-laden power-pop thing so this lands on the higher end of above average for me. I always end up reaching for this kind of thing, so I imagine I'll be back again.
✨ Macseal - Permanent Repeat (2024)
Genre: Midwest Emo, Power Pop
My experience with this band so far is that I know I heard some songs off their earlier efforts, and they sounded like a number of other bands doing the midwestern emo with all the twinkly, tappy mathy overactive guitar riff stuff. Haven't followed their career at all otherwise, but it sounds like over the years they've settled into a sunny emo-pop by way of power-pop sound (not overly dissimilar to something like Oso Oso.) This sound does suit them well, even if it isn't super ground breaking.
Definitely some 90s to 00s pop-rock in here, as the band mention Fountains of Wayne, Michelle Branch, and Goo Goo Dolls in their press for the album. They definitely bring those artists to mind (in order) with their moments of straightforward guitar pop, summery pop choruses and acoustic-led jangle.
I might need more time here to decide if this lands as something I return to for more or not, but it's not bad at all and wasn't really what I expected when I put it on, which is nice.
✨ Pack Rat - Life's a Trap (2024)
Genre: Punk, Garage Punk
Punk rock with that poppy garage rock skew to it and dual vocalists. I believe this is a project by the drummer from Chain Whip, so picture a similar starting-point, but slicker and more in the vein of what Punk Planet would call "the '77 sound"; sharp, simple power chords, steady speed level, way higher melodic content.
RIYL: The Marked Men, Radioactivity, and other Dirtnap Records acts.
Speed - Only One Mode (2024)
Genre: Beatdown Hardcore, Metalcore
Pretty standard, super heavy beatdown hardcore with a few little flourishes that suggest something more interesting (“The First Test”).
When they do that stuff, they remind me a little bit of SPAZZ who similarly would toss random instruments like a banjo (Speed use a flute) or whatever on top of their otherwise standard sound. I was left wishing that Speed would lead further into that direction. I get the sense that they're poised for a real breakout despite sounding like a ton of other bands, and my conclusion as a pseudo-outsider (who just happens to listen to a lot of this stuff) is that they could pull a Turnstile-esque expanding of their palette very successfully. This just feels like their first half-step in that direction to me, and I wish it was a little more fully formed.
That said, this is really well done and has a lot of huge, fuckin' heavy as hell mosh parts (“I Mean It” is so hard, goddamn) so in that sense it's successful and I enjoyed it.
⛏️ The Ergs! - Dorkrockcorkrod (2024, Steve Albini 20th Anniversary Remix)
Genre: Pop Punk, Punk Rock, Power Pop, Geek Rock, Skate Punk
In 2004, I was in College and probably wasn't ready for this record since I was still in the thick of my "actually pop punk is beneath me" period. A couple years later though, and I remembered about this record that people held in pretty high regard and was able to engage with it properly.
Yeah, this is derivative. It's the sound of people aping Descendents records (in particular the rapid-fire melodic bass lines) but at the time I won't say that was a fresh idea, but it was a good idea and more fresh then than it would be nowadays.
I think Side A is almost too ridiculously stacked. 6 of Side A's 8 songs are basically chiseled in to stone as classic modern pop punk songs in my brain.
Side B is where they throw in some sillier diversions - “Maybe I'm The New Messiah” also feels a little one of Descendents' quick and short blasters, and "Rod Argent" sees them jumping all the way into the power pop deep end. These are not essential songs.
A few too many of the second half's songs are mid-tempo power pop numbers compared to the sugar rush of the record's opening stretch. I can see why the last half of this record would drag someone's score down considerably. This is part of the band's M.O. though, as they would continue to diversify their sound on the 45 minute (!!!) Upstairs/Downstairs, with a Country-esque tune and an 18 minute noise-punk-jazz?-exploration.
Steve Albini's remix though, is excellent. The bass is thicker and the drums, unsurprisingly, sound great and a bit more well rounded than the previous version of the album.
There's an 11 or 12 track version of this album that would be a near-perfect, short and to the point record in my mind. Maybe toss a few of the highlights from Upstairs/Downstairs too. But now I'm talking about a playlist and not an album.
I'm glad they've revisited and remixed this in all its messy glory, 20 years on.
Rhinestone Pickup Truck - Self Deprecation at Hourly Rates (2024)
Genre: Indie Rock, Power Pop
More crunchy power-pop from the school of Rozwell Kid with influences of Weezer, etc. Satisfying for 29 minutes, doesn't stick out too much in terms of memorability. Dips a little into some sunny, three chord Lookout! Records-esque pop punk on the hand clappy “Knife”. Decent stuff.
Sludder - Sooner or Later (2024)
Genre: Pop Punk, Skate Punk
Poppy punk rock from Italy. Brings to mind many, many bands but generally they all orbit around the EpiFat brand of what you'd call Californian 90s pop punk (the kind that also incorporates skate punk elements.) Often this made me think of Lagwagon, Blue Skies, Broken Hearts... Next 12 Exits-era The Ataris, More Betterness!-era No Use for a Name, and more.
As far as how good it is? It's fine! I am always on the lookout for modern versions of this sound so it does the trick but definitely feels derivative in a way that has me wondering where they will go from here.
I'd listen to a follow-up from them, so that's not nothing.
Cryptic Hatred - Internal Torment (2024)
Genre: Death Metal
Not totally sure how to review this; sounds like modern death metal, has vocals that are juuuuust on the right side of "not overly monotonous", features a lot of good heavy riffing and some thrashy, showy lead solos.
Overall, a pretty balanced mix of death metal elements with some slower, heavier headbanging moments for me. I think what I most appreciated about it, was the overall heaviness of the tempos here. Nothing too repetitive, nothing too simplistic. Again, feels fairly balanced, all said.
BUT.... it passed right through my head and out the other side. It was on, I enjoyed it and I couldn't tell you anything about these songs or whether I liked any of them more or less than the rest. Could possibly be my problem or maybe this just isn't super memorable on a songwriting level? Unsure.
Obscene - Agony & Wounds (2024)
Genre: Death Metal
Another one where all I feel like I can say is… sounds like death metal to me!
Pretty good stuff, does all the things you want death metal to do. Some enjoyably heavy slower parts, but leans pretty hard into all the things that make death metal sometimes repetitive to me. They throw in enough riff variation to keep me interested throughout the 40 minute runtime though; some flashy, thrashy soloing, some breakdown chugga chugga riffing here and there, some vaguely epic elements like on "The Reaper's Blessing" before hopping back into the tremolo attack. Not bad, but it will dissipate from my memory I think.
⛏️ Girls Against Boys - Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby (1993)
Genre: Post-Hardcore, Noise Rock, Alternative Rock, Industrial Rock
GVSB are one of those bands where you can't imagine someone not liking them, and yet the people don’t almost always hate them. I guess you'd call it divisive, but it's even more than that.
A few years back I gave this record to some friends who I thought would dig it and boy did they NOT DIG IT AT ALL. With a passion. A fiery passion. When I found this record in High School, though? It was like stumbling on an entirely new world of coolness. Cool levels I had previously thought impossible.
Anyway, though albums like House of GVSB and Freak*On*Ica are good to wildly spotty (in that order,) when GVSB are on they are tough to beat for slinky, sweaty post-punk groovathons. This is just a phenomenal execution of groove and mood, fully weaponizing the two-bass attack that made them so intriguing.
Some of their aforementioned later records could crumble beneath the weight of having poor lyrics, but it doesn't really matter on this album. Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby is certainly their best from top to bottom, even if the slower songs threaten to derail the whole ordeal.
⛏️ Snapcase - Progression Through Unlearning (1997)
Genres: Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Alternative Metal
When I was a teen in 2002, I bought End Transmission because Snapcase was a name I knew from people talking about hardcore music. I dug that album a lot but it wasn't until I was in College that I worked my way back to this album. And it still absolutely rips.
Sure, it's not the most diverse record. But what it does, it does well. Hugely sick snare sound. There are probably people out there that would try and tell you the snare sucks on this album, but those people are not to be trusted.
It's maybe the quickest litmus test in hardcore... when that snare hits on "Caboose", you know exactly how you will feel about this album.
UTD - Manifest Destiny (2004)
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop, Boom Bap
Notable unreleased album from 1995 featuring Mos Def and their younger brother (DCQ) and sister (Ces). Pacing is what stops this from being something I'd listen to multiple times but taken a few tracks at a time this is really solid stuff.
A lot of these songs run 5+ minutes long and end up overstaying their welcome. Still, worth a listen for fans of Mos Def and there's a handful of tracks on here I'll return to.
✂ Manifest Destiny, Victory
⛏️ Maritime - We, the Vehicles (2006)
Genre: Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Post-Punk Revival, Midwest Emo, Indie Rock
After The Promise Ring put out the disastrously received Wood / Water, Davey von Bohlen started working with the bassist from The Dismemberment Plan and Daniel Didier (of Promise Ring too). Their first album as Maritime, Glass Floor, was a pretty uneven affair but for their follow-up they tightened up their indie-rock influenced emo-pop into something special.
This is top to bottom very slick, hooky music that skirts into dance-y indie rock by virtue of sometimes having that hi-hat shuffle sound ("Young Alumni") but the foundation of this record is just great guitar-pop songs. "Parade of Punk Rock T-Shirts" is rightly pointed to as being one of the record's more successfully addictive tracks. Whether it's a jangly acoustic-led tune ("German Engineering") or something that almost sounds like a late-career Promise Ring b-side ("Twins"), most of these songs are successful.
At times, the formula is laid bare ("Don't Say You Don't" sounds so much like other songs on here that you might think you've looped back around) but that's the main flaw here for my money. We're looking at like 9 or 10 good to great tracks on an 11 track, 36 minute record, which is pretty dang good for my money.
⛏️ Headphones - Headphones (2005)
Genre: Indietronica, Indie Rock, Synthpop
This has long been one of my favourite things that David Bazan has ever put out. Similarly as bleak and depressing sounding as Control, but much more varied in terms of topics (also it's not a concept album so there's that.)
Though this fits into a bit of a trend that was happening at the time - bands experimenting with stripped down set-ups and the addition of synths - it really does its own thing with that foundation. You can't really compare anything on here to something like Mates of State or The Postal Service despite there being textural similarities there.
Despite the downtrodden vibe, a lot of these songs have really addictive melodies. “Hello Operator” is one of the meanest songs here but the way it crescendos with a very singable “you should have never / fucked with me” is wild. Same for the tale of murderous revenge that opens the record, "Gas and Matches," which somehow has a great chorus despite it being about someone lighting a guy on fire for a vague prank (“we took your photograph / we thought we'd have a few good laughs / at your expense [...] but we never knew you were a psychopath / or that you'd have the last laugh.”) “Slow Car Crash” is maybe the only song that is too stripped back. It works as a sombre closer to the album's overall mood, but doesn't really offer that much upon repeat inspections.
TW Walsh is also something of a secret weapon here, with sparse but interesting drumming patterns that compliments the organs and synths perfectly.
Maybe this is another one of those “I've heard this too much to be able to separate myself from it and look at it objectively” moments, but it's definitely one of my favourite records.
✨ Cigarette Camp - Chalk E.P. (2023)
Genre: Pop Punk
10 fast, snotty and melodic nuggets of gritty pop-punk. dewtaylo already has the right references points down in their review (Dillinger Four, Red Scare Records, No Idea Records, etc.) which is why I ran here to listen to this immediately.
While this stuff does sound like what was going on in the mid-90s, I also was surprised that this came out as recently as 2023 because in another way, it really resembles the kind of burgeoning throwback punk revival thing that was happening circa 2007 with bands like Chinese Telephones (who also had the kinda crusty production quality thing going on.)
Also: my heart will always lie with a band that covers a song by Fastbacks (“Under the Old Lightbulb.”)
✨ Alligator Gun - 100 Percent Freak (1995)
Genre: Indie Rock, Pop Punk
First track hits and it's one of those dueling octave-chords emo-pop-punk-power-pop kind of tune. Has a big time Superchunk thing going on as well. Can't put my finger on it, but this all sounds very Vagrant Records to me. Features a founding member of Hey Mercedes (Hey Mercedes / Everynight Fire Works era) so that might also give you a reference point.
Over the course of the album, it's all pretty same-y but luckily I don't mind a bunch of same-y songs if they're replicating a formula I don't hate, haha. Just upbeat energetic crunchy tunes, some palm mutes here and there so it can resemble pop-punk, but mostly this is indie/emo power-pop guitar rock.
Not a ton of anthemic or memorable vocal/lyrical moments, but that's OK. This worked as good background music for me, and that's alright. Probably just narrowly avoids being a hidden gem by lack of overall memorability, but still worth a look.
✨ Abe Froman - Abe Froman (2001)
Genre: Pop Punk
Screechy lo-fi pop-punk that kind of resembles a twee version of stuff like Cleveland Bound Death Sentence. Members would go on to Good Luck, Mt. Gigantic, Pink Razors, Memory Map and more. Those band names will bring to mind an instrumental proficiency that you don't find here though, so don't pay too close attention to that. This is scrappy, shambly poppy punk with high pitched yelping and vocalists that trade off between battling for a higher volume and sometimes actually harmonizing. Charming and not bad but a whole album of it got a little grating. A perfect seven-inch band, I'd bet.
✂ Citizen's Arrest, After The Fact, Mom I Want To Move
Allwarm - Camellia (2023)
Genre: Emo-Pop, Pop Punk, Melodic Hardcore
This sounds a bit like if No Pressure or Loudmouth also were trying to emulate 00s emo-pop at the same time as 00s pop punk. Shades of that Taking Back Sunday kind of thing in songs like “Falling Snow” for sure. “Every Now & Then” is very Your + Favorite + Weapon-era Brand New as well.
I think this counts as that kind of “heavy-music-adjacent pop punk/emo” stuff because IIRC Ephyra is more known for deathcore/metalcore/nu metal/etc. no?
Generally this keeps the energy up but they stretch a couple of these songs wayyy past what they need to be (“Our Space”). “I Just Stand There” doesn't really do all that much with its 3 minute run-time so yeah, it does just kind of stand there in the middle of the album. File under: there's potential here, but I’m not completely sold yet.
Ends with a very straightly played Box Car Racer cover, take that as you will.
🌱 Death - Leprosy (1988)
Genre: Death Metal
This era of death metal where it is still very foundationally built upon thrash seems to be an issue for some modern listeners, but thankfully I love thrash so this doesn’t hinder my enjoyment. Although I do have to say, the production on this wore down a little bit. You may have heard that the snare sounds weird on this album, and it does, but I got used to that. But for some reason the rest of the production just didn’t hit.
Good album, obviously influential, maybe not for me personally? This is one of those situations where my mood could be impacting the ceiling of my score. This felt way, way longer than 38 minutes to me and again, maybe that's the production.
Gatsbys American Dream - Volcano (2005)
Genre: Pop Punk, Emo-Pop, Post-Hardcore
I know this is considered their best, but for me I've always preferred their prior albums to this one. That's not to say this doesn't have a bunch of good material on it, but I find the melodies less memorable. It's cool that they pack in a lot of references to their previous material in here for fans.
I think the general concept of “isn't human emotion like a volcano sometimes tho?” even cornier than their previous record (which took most of its inspiration from Animal Farm.) They do still successfully mine high school texts like Lord of the Flies for maybe their poppiest tune with “Fable” though.
I've always felt like this record never clicked with me and I still fully feel that way, but I do appreciate some of it more than I had in the past. But I still prefer their debut and follow-up a bit more (likely due to nostalgia purposes, admittedly.)
✨ Motion City Soundtrack - I Am the Movie (2003)
Genre: Pop Punk, Power Pop, Emo-Pop, Geek Rock
Commit This to Memory and the highlights off Even If It Kills Me & My Dinosaur Life are my usual go-tos when it comes to listening to MCS. Obviously I have a lot of time for the highlights here - “The Future Freaks Me Out”, “Capital H”, “Don't Call It a Comeback”, “Red Dress” etc. - but I rarely reach for it as an "album."
Well, it holds up pretty well all things considered. The scrappier elements of this are endearing, but they also are fully formed in terms of their ability to write slick hooks and addictive vocal lines. Can't rate it quite as highly as Commit This to Memory because that record has a tighter tracklist, but it is easy to forget that this record has a lot of dope deep cuts, even with some small hiccups around pacing and length.
That's usually the case with debut records though, trying to get all their ideas down because who knows it might be their first and last big chance to, etc.
That’s it, that’s all. Be excellent to one other.
Another banger of a post, excited to check out what's new to me.
Like for the Snapcase and Girls vs Boys inclusion in your writing