Fall 2016 is bursting with countless great album releases and with so much good music coming, it’s hard to keep track of what to listen to. So instead of scouring the web for something to add to the week’s playlist, here are a few recent releases from bands that stray from the Top 40, making time between classes a bit more interesting, and maybe, a bit louder.
Balance and Composure Light We Made
Like all Balance and Composure albums, some kind of magnetic melancholy shifts throughout every song—a deep longing pins itself to the musical landscape. Some choose to call this the ‘emo revival,’ but whatever it may be deemed, Balance and Composure continues to successfully perfect this new and popular sound.
Light We Made, has made a sonic leap from their previous effort, 2013’s The Things We Think We’re Missing, and has changed paths for the Pennsylvania quintet. The drums are a big contribution to the dynamic change, mellowing out to a linear vibe that remains consistent throughout the entire record, making it another immense success for the band.
Every Time I Die Low Teens
The Buffalo, NY scene-transcending hardcore veterans released their eighth LP, Low Teens, on Sept. 23. The days that followed since have been a 15-track ambush looming with catchy riff after riff, dark lyricism—all delicately laced with signature Every Time I Die intensity throughout every track.
Brenden Urie of Panic! At the Disco’s vocal cameo is just one of the small tasteful additions making this album a damn good one. This scored the band their biggest first-week album sales with 15,500 albums sold—slating Low Teens at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 charts. As the band releases an album about every two years, Low Teens has made a huge ripple not only in the band’s career but in the direction of post-hardcore for years to come.
Joyce Manor Cody
Formed in 2008 in Southern California, Joyce Manor has validated themselves as another asset to the pop-punk community. With their 2014 album, Never Hungover Again doing just that, their second LP, Cody, has shown full attention to the hopeless angst of coming to terms with maturity. Vocally and lyrically driven by frontman Barry Johnson, Cody lends itself to an early 90s nostalgic feel.
Joyce Manor manages to do all of this while paying homage to Southern California punks like The Decedents and Pennywise, even including the laid back, melancholy of Elliot Smith along the way. Nevertheless, through all the hopelessness and emo vibes, the Southern California sun shines through every track of Cody, suggesting a bit of optimism.
Dance Gavin Dance Mothership
These Sacramento dudes have once again put out another hard-hitting album filled with melodic guitar tapping and auditory edible breakdowns. The countless member changes over the years have proven to be more than beneficial, as the band followed the 2015 Instant Gratification LP with the Oct. 7 release of Mothership.
Vocalists Tilian Pearson and Jon Mess have yet to convey the successful balance between clean and screaming vocals—all colliding with catchy, yet chaotic guitar parts. If you find yourself naysaying the post-hardcore and metalcore genre, Dance Gavin Dance may just change your mind with Mothership.
Green Day Revolution Radio
If you’re going to base criticism on the 2012 triple album, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! when listening to this new record, please, for the sake of popular punk rock, reconsider. Green Day rightfully returns to their roots (mostly) with Revolution Radio.
Songs like Bang Bang, tear down the walls with fast tempos and a few rebellious power chords pulling at the current state of political circus. Conversely, the acoustic piece, “Ordinary World”, scours a sentimental mortality within Billy Joel Armstrong, while “Still Breathing” following close behind in a similar fashion. When listening to Revolution Radio, forget the urge to compare to past Green Day nostalgia, and maybe you’ll recognize these punk rock titans are still very much breathing in every bit of pop culture.
Matt Manfredi can be reached at [email protected] or @matthewmanfredi on Twitter.
