Wasted Time
March 21st, 2024
Hey y’all. I’m back with another bunch of thoughts about albums I’ve been listening to lately - from new, to old and everything in-between! How have you been hanging in there? Well, I hope.
Yesterday afternoon I decided on a whim to go to a local park and walk through the woods for an hour, alone. I thought a lot while out there, surrounded by old creaking trees and a grey, partially snowy sky. I thought a lot about things people my age probably worry about too much; if anything I’ve done creatively matters, wondering where my time slips away to these days, about stuff I talk about in therapy like my inability to relate to myself and about whether or not creative pursuits of mine have been successful enough - whatever that even means?! When I was younger it was easier to say things like “you should do the things you love anyway and even if only one person is positively affected, that’s worth it!” Now, it’s harder to keep that in mind. I used to do a lot of podcasting, but it gets harder and harder to find the time.
But listening to music obsessively seems to be one thing that hasn’t left me, and so I have been keeping it going because I guess in some ways, it keeps me going! I don’t know what I want these introductions to be, but I figured why not doing some rambling today? It’s tough to come up with the same “here’s some music” introductions every time! It’s amusing, because I generally pick the title of these newsletters based on song titles of something I’m listening to well in advance of writing anything within them, and somehow today they seemed to line up with my thoughts. Weird how that works.
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!
Outer World - Who Does the Music Love? (2024)
Genre: Chamber Pop, Art Pop
Fantastic chamber pop / art pop album from Tracy Wilson (Dahlia Seed, Positive No) and Kenneth Close (Positive No). It's a short album - EP? Mini-LP? Something in-between? - but it achieves everything it sets out to in spades.
This is one of those albums where you find yourself wanting to live inside its reverb-soaked corners. I find it amazing that this is able to be so varied but still feel like a singular effort. It jumps from space-age bachelor pad pop to post-punk lead guitar lines, from organ-led psych-freak-outs to slinky spy movie atmosphere with ease.
💡 RIYL: Stereolab, Broadcast, The Soundcarriers, Spacemoth, et al.
Sweat - Love Child (2024)
Genre: Hardcore Punk
Gotta Give It Up was one of my favs from 2022 and probably one of the albums I listened to most that year. Something about their mix of hardcore punk and just a sprinkle of throwback classic rock elements worked perfectly for me. They're back with another record and on first listen this sounds to me like a situation of "more of the same, but that's what I wanted!" I can't tell if it's not quite up to the standards of their last album or just too fresh for me to know for sure.
Finding Gotta Give It Up was such a left-field surprise for me (clicked a random album in the new release bin basically) that it is likely impossible for this release to get out of the shadow of it, but I'm stoked for more and will definitely be listening to this a bunch this year.
Dancer - 10 Songs I Hate About You (2024)
Genre: Indie Rock, Post-Punk
The thing that strikes me about this album is that it doesn't sacrifice catchiness for the post-punk attitude and sound. I feel like that gets forgotten in certain strains of post-punk indebted indie-rock but this is really catchy right off the bat.
It's not exclusively that bass-driven sound, or the sparse talk-singing with that self-serious atmosphere. Everything here seems to be in service of memorable melodies, which makes it work so well. They dip into twee sounds on "Change" which accentuate the interlocking rhythm section really effectively. In moments it almost brings to mind a "what if Los Campesinos! were less maximalist and more informed by post-punk" kind of thing - more in attitude / energy than sound. They still dip into noise-textures and more dissonant tones on stuff like "A Diagnosis" or "Make a Decision" though - the latter even throws in some noodly mathy emo sounding guitar riffs?
Overall very good stuff, and really enjoyable. Could end up a 4 star thing by the end of the year to be honest.
Downt - Underlight & Aftertime (2024)
Genre: Post-Rock, Indie Rock, Math Pop, Shoegaze, Midwest Emo
Kind of a mix of emo, slowcore, math-rock, indie-rock and maybe even some post-hardcore or dreamy pop in moments on this release from Japan's downt. This was not on my radar at all until I came across it in the new releases today. I do find myself wishing there were more bursts of energy on here because they really shine on the louder, buzzier moments. Otherwise this was really nice stuff that I feel is flying a bit under the radar.
BRAT - Social Grace (2024)
Genre: Deathgrind, Death Metal
This is firmly in the "does what it says on the tin" camp. I see tags like deathgrind and metalcore but this does just sound like riff/breakdown heavy hardcore stuff with maybe death, grind and metalcore elements tossed in? I dunno, I'm no expert. It's heavy and there's a bit of groove to it and it got me tapping and moving my head along with it this morning before work. I could see this growing on me, but I imagine a fair reaction to this being "I already listen to enough music I already like that sounds exactly like this" and they wouldn't be wrong. I guess I'm just not sure what makes them stand out of the pack of bands in this genre?
But I think it's effective and enjoyable enough and some of the super heavy gut-level breakdown stuff on songs like "Blood Diamond" did make me wanna fuck shit up even though I'm in mosh retirement.
Footballhead - Overthinking Everything (2024)
Genre: Alternative Rock, Emo-Pop, Pop Punk, Grunge
Enjoyed this album when it was self-released and the new 2024 re-release from Tiny Engines is basically just a bit of a remaster. No major changes that I can tell from my memory other than this sounds very good. As far as that hook-laden emo-grunge / indie-punk / alt-rock thing goes I think this is well above average. They dip into moments where songs are straight up pop-punk ("Etched You In") but I'd have a hard time calling the album on the whole cut-and-dry pop-punk.
Very good though, and since they yoinked the record from streaming last year for this re-release, I can see this likely landing on my 2024 list.
Blue Whale - Last Immediate Images (2024)
Genre: Math Rock, Noise Rock
This was one of those "found it in the new releases, never heard the band before" Friday morning spins.
Sounds like a mix of math-rock, noise-rock, post-hardcore and a little post-rock atmospherics in moments. I think this may lean on the egghead, textures/riffs/vibes over actual songwriting but there are times where I can go for that kind of thing and I felt like when they worked up to more heavy stretches like on "Orunge" it was effective.
Polvo comes to mind on the songs that balance skewed, weird riffing with more expected song-like rhythms and structures ("Reimer", "I Wanna Be Your Da.")
I think I'd like this a bit more if there was more singing on it, as it feels like it gets more instrumental in the back half of the album and it kinda loses my attention by that point.
Annabel - Worldviews (2024)
Genre: Indie Rock, Midwest Emo
My initial thoughts: Immediately struck by the lightly vocoded vocals on opener "Another World" and unsure what to expect from Annabel's first album in 9 years.
I wonder if they're leaning towards an indie-orchestra band kind of thing on this album or go towards that more expansive wide-screen Wild Pink-circa Yolk in the Fur kind of emo thing. But "All Time" does jump in to deter those thoughts briefly. I think in the past, I've preferred Annabel in upbeat / rock mode, but something about "All Time" doesn't instantly hit me how I want it to. Based on the trajectory of their career up until this point, I think this album makes a lot of sense as a next step for the band, sound-wise for sure.
The band is still working in vaguely post-rock influenced moments layered underneath the emo revival sound on songs like "We Are Where We Are" which should please long-time fans. "Dog", "Defense Mechanism" and "Hopium" land right in that sweet spot as dewtaylo says "Reminds us that there's space for emo between 'essentially pop punk' and 'nerd starring at his shoes playing arpeggios'."
Basically, I think people who are already fans of Annabel are going to enjoy this record and for someone like me - who always erred on the side of admiration vs. legitimate fandom or connection - it's a little bit in-one-ear-out-the-other.
Cusp - Thanks So Much (2024)
Genre: Indie Rock
I've been kind of quietly enjoying Cusp but never falling fully into love with their releases for a while. Spill EP caught my ear, and You Can Do It All didn't fully grab me but was a pleasant enough listen. They're back with another EP and I'm wondering if maybe their sound is just suited for 15 - 20 minutes vs album length because this also seems cromulent. Or maybe I need to revisit the record? Who knows.
Cusp play a kind of indie rock that I feel like has fallen a bit out of favor; I've used the word pleasant already but it keeps coming to mind. They mix between bright indie-pop and guitar-rock, but they never get too heavy or too twee. It's a solid blend. They make me think of bands like Wye Oak circa-Civilian and a song like "Window" brings to mind Julie Doiron circa-I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day a little bit too.
It doesn't bowl me over, but it does make me wonder if I moved on past the full length too quickly.
Atom and His Package - Atom and His Package (1997)
Genre: Synth Punk
There are certain movies and albums and books that are just too much a part of my brain that I will never be able to objectively look at them and try to think about them critically. In high school I downloaded this album off an xdcc bot on IRC and listened to it over and over and over.
The idea that all of these ridiculous songs were arranged on a Yamaha QY20 just rules especially when the songs are a mix of random asides and false starts and silly change ups. Not that I'm saying these are brilliant compositions but the idea that Atom had to sit there and write and arrange them all on a little portable music workstation built such a potent air of legend around this stuff to me. I just love the idea of almost getting to hear the process in the output - all these little instrumental ditties obviously not fully formed enough to become full songs but hey they're included anyway.
To anyone else this likely doesn't need to be almost 40 minutes, it probably sounds like keyboard demos with a whiny little voice rambling over it, but it felt like a big deal to me as a kid. Some guy made some weird music and now they're touring and putting out records and shit. Fuck me if the entire concept of Atom and His Package existing isn't one of the punkest things ever?! I know this spawned a lot of pretty cringey synthpunk imitators but this is one of those albums that feels like "mine" and I can't really separate myself from it because I've lived in it for too long. And all that over an album with a song about dropping people you don't like into the ocean using a crane? Life's weird man.
Détente - Recognize No Authority (1986)
Genre: Thrash Metal
This gets by almost exclusively on its atmosphere and vocalist Dawn Crosby's performance. It's booming, cruddy production lends well to the crust punk-influenced thrash metal sound. The riffs aren't wildly memorable (but they're solid enough) and the songs don't have a lot to them, but the attitude level is high and there's just a weird special ingredient that I can't put my finger on here. It just sounds like you found an unlabeled crusty thrash metal cassette on the ground somewhere and popped it in your tape player. Someone in the comments on RYM called it "very good boring thrash" and somehow that is a perfect explanation.
Fear of God - Within the Veil (1991)
Genre: Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Gothic Metal, Alternative Metal
When Détente broke up, vocalist Dawn Crosby went on to form Fear of God and put all of their emotions into this mix of gothic rock and various metal subgenres (particularly standard heavy metal plus thrash and doom elements.) Their haunting, one of a kind vocal performance is all over this album, from spoken word to wailing, soaring vocals and to venomous, tormented spitting and screaming. It's phenomenal and one of the most unique metal albums of the 90s I've heard in a while. On the surface, the instrumentals aren't game changing but the various genres of rock and metal are toyed with in just such a way that it feels truly unique to me.
I'm not one to complain or argue about albums and whether or not they should be bolded on here, but this really feels like one of those albums that should have a more fervent cult to it. Would not be surprised if it gets bolded in another few years.
Unfortunately, Dawn Crosby's story is a sad one - after a follow-up Fear of God album that sticks to a bit more straight-forward metal/thrash sound, they passed away in 1996 from liver failure. This feels like Dawn's masterpiece to me, and hopefully doesn't go forgotten.
Sig Transit Gloria - Sig Transit Gloria (2001)
Genre: Emo-Pop, Midwest Emo
Wee-oo-wee-oo keyboard-backed emo-pop / indie-rock. This was completely off my radar until I found it in my recommended albums for today on Spotify. Surprised this hadn't crossed my path until today seeing as it was released on Johann's Face Records, who I'm familiar with since they put out stuff by Smoking Popes, No Empathy, Sass Dragons etc.
The opening "Song in F" is a real highlight but this is scrappy enough to be endearing and melodic enough to be pleasing for 30 minutes. Easy comparisons would be The Anniversary or The Get Up Kids, and in some ways they sound like a bit of a venn diagram overlap of those two bands - the foundation in emo/punk, the hooks, the keyboard/synths, etc.
As for all of these songs, I wonder if there’s a ceiling for how memorable they can actually be? Probably debatable. These aren't earworms you'd expect from TGUK but I have a lot of time for this sound so I am pretty set to at least enjoy this kind of thing. If you’re like me, you might too!
Good Riddance - Bound by Ties of Blood and Affection (2003)
Genre: Melodic Hardcore, Hardcore Punk, Punk Rock, Skate Punk
A lot of the "seminal" EpiFat style bands would release a few albums that got canonized and then go on to release a bunch of average stuff for the rest of their careers. This is one of those rare albums that stands out as Good Riddance was seemingly about to enter that period of their career after their most successful album Symptoms of a Leveling Spirit.
By this point the band had been working with Bill Stevenson, Stephen Egerton and Jason Livermore at Blasting Room for a number of records but this one really captures that post-Descendents, Blasting Room crunch well. It may not be their best record (and my pick for that would probably change depending on the day you catch me on) but there's a bunch of songs on here that I think are incredibly strong, like "Made to Be Broken," "More DePalma, Less Fellini", "There's No 'I' in Team", "Dylan", and others.
It may be same-y (it's EpiFat punk rock after all) and better as a "consistent" album than it is an album packed full of highs, but it's one of the Good Riddance albums I reach for most often over the years, and maybe one of their most underrated?
Captain Everything - Buena Vista Bingo Club (2006)
Genre: Pop Punk, Skate Punk
Splits the difference between the revival pop-punk sound of 00s orgcore and throwback EpiFat skate punk. Moreso the latter though, as I definitely hear some of Bracket's power-pop elements in their melodies alongside a Cigar-like dedication to speediness.
They include a bunch of very fast, short songs that don't stick in your memory but when they do expand their songs past the minute mark they're hooky enough to stick for the moment. I do wonder if they leaned further in the pop side of their sound, if they'd be even more successfully memorable.
This definitely sits in that "I have a lot of time for skate punk nostalgia so I liked it" bucket for me.
💡 RIYL: Cigar, Bracket, Belvedere, Making Friends etc.
Fiction Factory - Another Story (1985)
Genre: Synthpop
One thing I like to do is go onto Spotify and search for label:"Rdeg" and sort by albums. "Rdeg" is apparently what was once known as Renaissance Records and I suppose they are a reissue label. Not sure if they actually reiussue anything physically, but in that search you'll basically find a lot of 70s, 80s, 90s AOR and beyond stuff that has been forgotten. Lots of random shit in there, like a Toronto Police-rip-off band from the 80s named The Tenants or wild album art that catches your eye like We Reserve the Right and Hang On for Your Life.
Anyway, it's fun to pick a random thing and see what it sounds like in the search for hidden gems. A form of digital crate-digging, if you will.
Another Story caught my eye since it looked like an obscure art-rock band album cover or maybe something new wave or synth pop. This turned out to be the latter; as another reviewer on here this is cocaine-party synth pop through and through. Something that would soundtrack an evening in a glass-cube adorned yuppie condo in the 80s.
I have a lot of time for shit like that so this sailed by while I did some work in the evening. Even when it brings out a dated steel drum ass beat on "No Time" - possibly the most dated song on the album - it didn't deter me to much.
"The Powder Room" has a Jones in the Fast Lane ass sound to it. Or maybe it was my speakers.
Anyway, fun stuff.
Slow Children - Slow Children (1981)
Genre: New Wave
Pretty wild that this has flown so under the radar, and has less than 100 ratings on RYM. Slow Children put out two great records of new wave and both are worth seeking out.
Their self-titled debut is more of an expected take on new wave ("Brazillian Magazines") and the follow up Mad About Town leaned further into a darker atmosphere.
Here they still have some grey-day vibes like the acoustic backed but still synth laden "Talk About Horses"; the song kind of exemplifies what they do best - a kind of half-synth-pop half-organic-band sound thing. Elsewhere they almost sound like The Waitresses meet The dB's ("Too Weak to Eat").
Some huge production here and major hooks and energy that pops off throughout. Definitely begging to be rediscovered alongside their second record for fans of the genre. Pal Shazar puts in an amazing performance on this record.
That’s it, that’s all. Be excellent to one other.
I can certainly say your publication has positively impacted me! I always learn something new and hear something exciting. Very much appreciate the work you put into these!