Weekly Roundup: June 13th
Featuring The Midnight, Jimmy Eat World, Single Mothers, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Pianos Become The Teeth – “Genevieve”
Sure, they might have a silly band name, but find me another band that made the lateral screamo-to-lush-post-rock-and-alternative move better than Pianos Become The Teeth. The Maryland quintet are prepping for the release of their fifth full-length album, Drift, out August 26th through Epitaph. The record was recorded entirely analog to tape and produced by Kevin Bernsten, who worked on their first two albums with Topshelf Records. So I expect the new album to be a raw reflection of their fifteen-year musical journey. Watch the video for Drift’s lead single “Genevieve” below:
Single Mothers – Everything You Need
According to Drew Thomson, frontman for Ontario punk rockers Single Mothers, the title of their forthcoming album was inspired by a convenience store. In a press release, Thomson states that “Everything You Need is just such a beautiful name for a place that sells lottery tickets and cigarettes and Coke Zero and Oh Henry’s!" It’s nice to see that time under lockdown hasn’t dulled Thomson’s laconic spirit. The band’s fourth LP will be released on October 28th through Dine Alone Records and arrives four years after 2018’s raucous Through a Wall. Stream the LP’s pre-release single here (Spotify).
KEN mode – “A Love Letter”
Manitoban outfit KEN mode don’t do pretty. With a reputation as one of the ugliest and extreme acts operating within the contemporary noise rock milieu (that’s a compliment, trust me), it’s hardly surprising that their newest eight-track effort, NULL (out September 23rd through Artoffact Records), is self-described as a “brand-new aural abrasion” and “the group’s quintessential statement of mental collapse and despair made sonic, a direct psychological reaction to the collective experience of the last two and a half years.” Heavy shit, indeed. Listen to “A Love Letter” here.
Life’s Question – World Full Of…
With an eclectic grab-bag of influences and stylistic attributes, Chicago bruisers Life’s Question are a vital and compelling addition to the continuing evolution of American hardcore. From the teasers already on offer, the band’s debut full-length for Triple B Records, World Full Of... (out August 8th), promises to be one hell of a release, matching their reputation for old-school intensity with off-kilter melodies, swinging grooves, and a hefty dose of street-ready attitude. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
The Midnight – “Heartbeat”
Nostalgia is everywhere right now (I’m looking at you, Hollywood), but it doesn’t always have to be such a dirty word. Synthwave is a musical subgenre for the anthropologists of lost futures, and The Midnight are some of the best in the business. Heroes, the duo’s latest slice of retro escapism, is out September 9th through Counter Records and follows 2020’s Monsters—a record I described as stuffed to the brim with “hypnagogic dream pop,” massive choruses, and a sense of wistful, hopeless romanticism. Listen to their new single “Heartbeat” here.
Pet Fox – A Face In Your Life
Back in 2021, I came across More Than Anything, the stellar three-track EP from Massachusetts alt-indie trio Pet Fox. It was a short and punchy project that had just the right amount of catchy hooks, tight instrumentation, and stylistic versatility to stand out in a very crowded field. I’m not entirely sure how news of their debut LP, A Face In Your Life, flew under my radar until now, but I’m glad I caught wind of it before its release this Friday through Exploding In Sound Records. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Jimmy Eat World – “Something Loud”
Of all the mid-90s emo acts still penning emotional tear-jerkers for cranked amps and packed stadiums, I’m stoked that Jimmy Eat World are among them. After releasing a bunch of retrospective live sets during the pandemic, as part of their Phoenix Sessions series, the Arizona quartet are finally here with new material—and it’s pure, vintage JEW. The track features powerful three-chord passages and those trademark vocal refrains from frontman Jim Adkins before the bridge kicks things up a notch for a strong finish. Welcome back, gents. Watch the performance clip for “Something Loud” below:
She Cries Wolf – I
Things appear to have come full circle for Brisbane/Gold Coast heavyweights She Cries Wolf. After the release of their exceptional third LP, 2019’s Liar, the quartet went through a creative realignment. Founding guitarist Daniel Belic left the group and was replaced by newcomer Jayden Barr, only to have Belic return and slide back in on bass duties, returning their configuration to a quintet, much like their inception back in 2015. Armed with I, a furious new three-track EP, the band have never sounded better, and I’m confident it’s just a taste of more to come. Stream the EP in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Listen to all these tracks and more on the TPD 2022 TUNES playlist, updated weekly.
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Joyce Manor – 40 oz. to Fresno
If there’s one thing Joyce Manor understand, it’s the concept of narrative economy. The Californian quartet certainly aren’t here to waste your time; a cursory look at their recent output narrows into a familiar formula: concise nuggets of super fun pop-punk played with a dive bar sensibility; roughly two-minute-long compositions as a rule (maybe three if they’re flexing, or under one if they’re really cranked up); and absolutely no interludes or instrumental meandering.
Play their last three LPs back to back and what you’ll get is 29 tracks in 63 breathless minutes—a literal hour of sugary power-pop goodness. Get in, get out, and be stoked. That’s the overriding philosophy here. On 40 oz. to Fresno, the group’s sixth LP in eleven years, frontman Barry Johnson ruminates on whether this thing he’s doing might have an expiration date. And while that may sound like a morose, almost downer subject to zero in on, Johnson & Co approach the record with an almost Weezer-esque zeal for affability.
Whether it’s through down-and-out commiseration from the grocery store aisle (“You’re Not Famous Anymore”), or the need for frivolity and magic on a “burning planet” (“Dance With Me”), there’s something wondrous about the act of letting go, living a little, and ramping things up until life itself blurs together like the thoughts cascading in your head. Or, as Johnson puts it: “Drinking tall cans in the park/ Hanging out ‘till it gets dark/ Goodbye kiss, my heart explodes.”